OF 


IROQUOIS  AND 


I 


;: 

• 


By  SALEM  ELY 


1 


,a,HOlS 


Very   respectfully, 
SALEM,    ELY. 


A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY 

OF  THE  VILLAGES  OF 

IROQUOIS  AND  MONTGOMERY 

AND  THE 

TOWNSHIP  OF  CONCORD 


1818  TO  1918 


By 

SALEM  ELY 

Iroquois,  111. 


Regan  Printing  House 
Chicago,  111. 


Copyright  1918  by  SALEM  ^ 


TO  THE  MEMORY  OF  MY  MOTHER 
WHO  DEVOTED  A  LONG  LIFE  OF 
SERVICE  TO  THIS  COMMUNITY 
AND  TO  HER  FAMILY,  THIS  BOOK 
IS  AFFECTIONATELY  DEDICATED 
BY  THE  AUTHOR 


PREFACE 

This  Centennial  History  has  been  written  at 
the  earnest  solicitation  of  my  personal  friends, 
Frank  Gilbreth,  County  Superintendent  of 
Schools,  and  Frank  Hooper,  Circuit  Judge  of 
this  Judicial  District.  The  only  reward  they 
offered  me  was  the  pleasure  to  be  derived  from 
a  siege  of  hard  work,  during  a  siege  of  extremely 
hot  weather.  I  feel  sure  that  these  gentlemen, 
who  have  the  best  interests  of  their  constituents 
at  heart,  and  knowing  my  aversion  to  labor  from 
the  standpoint  of  personal  experience,  would  not 
have  requested  me  to  do  this  thing  unless  it  was 
for  the  benefit  of  the  community. 

If  this  book  should  be  found  to  have  merit,  the 
credit  should  be  given  to  these  gentlemen.  If  it 
appears  in  attractive  dress,  the  Publisher  should 
share  this  credit.  Its  defects,  which  are  many, 
will  be  charged  to  me. 

Acknowledgment  is  made  to  Mrs.  R.  F.  Karr, 
Marion  Karr,  John  H.  Francis,  Gurdon  S.  Hub- 
bard's  Autobiography,  Iroquois  County  Times- 
Democrat  and  Beckwith's  History  of  Iroquois 
County,  for  some  of  the  data  which  has  been 
found  available.  Very  respectfully, 

SALEM  ELY. 

Iroquois,  Illinois, 
August,  1918. 


\ 


INTRODUCTION 

I  have  been  requested  to  prepare  a  brief  in- 
troduction to  the  following  contribution  to  the 
local  history  of  Iroquois  County.  It  is  with 
pleasure  that  I  do  so.  The  author,  for  many 
years,  has  resided  in  one  of  the  most  historic 
places  in  northern  and  eastern  Illinois,  and  is 
especially  fitted  to  write  of  the  subject  of  which 
he  treats.  Almost  a  century  ago,  Gurdon  S. 
Hubbard  and  his  pioneer  associates  came  to  "The 
Iroquois  Country,"  as  it  was  then  called,  and 
established  an  Indian  trading  post  near  what  is 
now  the  site  of  the  Village  of  Iroquois. 

The  Indian  woman,  "Watch-E-Kee,"  later 
called  'Watseka,"  who  has  left  her  name  and 
memory  as  her  sole  legacy  to  the  people  of  this 
community,  enters  into  the  history,  romance,  and, 
I  may  add,  the  tragedy  and  pathos,  of  those 
pioneer  days. 

While  I  have  not  had  the  pleasure  of  exam- 
ining the  manuscript  at  length,  I  feel  confident 
that  many  matters  of  interest  to  the  people 
of  this  county  concerning  its  early  history,  and 
pioneer  life  in  general,  have  been  touched  by  the 
author  in  an  entertaining  and  instructive  manner. 

FRANK  L.  HOOPER, 

i 

Judge,  Twelfth  Judicial  Circuit. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The   Indian  Village 1 

Iroquois  and  Montgomery 3 

Catharine    Maggs — Portrait 5 

Bunkum — Name  Given  in  Derision 7 

Iroquois — An  Indian  Name 9 

Famous    Trial 10 

Watch-e-Kee — The   Indian  Maiden . 11 

Ancient  Land  Marks 14 

Gurden  S.  Hubbard's  Trail 16 

Patriotic    Celebrations 19 

Old  Settlers'  Reunion 19 

Hon.  John  Wentworth — Address 21 

James  H.  Reese — Narrative 31 

Hon.  C.  A.  Lake — Speech 33 

Pioneer  Story,  by  Foster  Moore 35 

Address,  by  Judge  Franklin  Blades 38 

Marion    Karr — Portrait 42 

Pioneer  Story,  by  Micajah  Stanley .  48 

Pioneer  Story,  by  Thomas  Barker 55 

Pioneer  Story,  by  Hiram  Vennum 61 

Pioneer  Story,  by  Judge  S.  R.  Moore 63 

Story  by  Moses  H.  Messer 65 

Pioneer  Settlers  Assembled,  Names  of 74 

A  Memorable  Home-Coming 77 

George  Ade — Address 78 

Saloons  and  no  Saloons .                                            82 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Inventions  by   Iroquois  Citizens 83 

Influential    Citizens 84 

Young  Men's  Opportunity -.  .  .  86 

Cora   (Fry)  Brown — Portrait 87 

Branches  of  Business 89 

Fraternal  Societies   90 

Iroquois — Advancement    91 

Clem  H.  Hughes — Portrait 91 

Concord    Township — Location 93 

Concord   Township — Organization 94 

Peter  B.  Strickler — Portrait 94 

Prominent    Citizens 95 

Benjamin   Fry — Portrait 96 

Early    Settlements 96 

Pioneer    Settlers 97 

A  New  Country 98 

The    American    Indians 99 

Period  of  Slow  Development 100 

Milk  Sickness 102 

Natural   Attractions 103 

The  Early   Barn   Dance 104 

The  Old  Time  Spelling  School 105 

Worthy    Citizenship ' 106 

Opportunity — A  Poem • 108 

The  Early  Schools 108 

The  Early  School  House 110 

The  Early  School  Yard 113 

The   School   Master 114 

Methods  of  Teaching 115 

Results   118 

Religion    ' 119 

Mrs.  Benj.  Ely— Portrait.  . 122 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Early    Churches 123 

The  Pioneer   Preachers 125 

Concord  in  the  Civil  War 127 

Change   in   Population , 129 

Abraham    Carpenter — Portrait 129 

Period  of  Development 130 

R.    F.    Karr — Portrait 137 

Concord  and  the  World  War.  139 


"THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY" 

The  Indian  Village 

When  the  first  white  men  came  to  the  spot 
where  now  are  located  the  villages  of  Montgom- 
ery and  Iroquois,  they  found  a  large  settlement 
of  Indians.  Their  village  embraced  both  sides 
of  the  Iroquois  river.  The  tribe  belonged  to  that 
powerful  nation  known  as  the  Pottawatomies- 
a  nation  inclined  to  be  peaceable  and  friendly- 
and  this  tribe,  prompted  by  the  spirit  of  their 
own  nation,  welcomed  to  their  village  the  white 
men  with  open  arms.  This  was  a  most  fortunate 
circumstance,  for  the  early  white  settlers,  being 
so  few  in  number,  were  compelled  to  rely  for  their 
safety  upon  the  friendship  of  the  Indian,  rather 
than  upon  their  own  strength  in  defense.  The 
Indians  as  a  race  represented  a  wide  range  of 
intelligence  and  civilization  according  to  their 
nations.  They  were  not  the  same  in  their  tribal 
customs  and  orderly  methods.  Some  tribes  were 
advanced  to  a  point  closely  approximating  the 
civilization  of  the  white  people  of  that  day.  Other 
tribes  were  so  barbarous  that  they  tortured  to 


2  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

death  their  prisoners  of  war  and  ate  the  bodies. 
The  intelligent  groups  had  their  laws  and  cus- 
toms, their  religious  and  social  institutions  and 
traditions  and  they  lived  up  to  their  ideals  of 
commercial  honesty  and  social  honor.  Had  this 
tribe  been  hostile  towards  the  early  white  settler 
instead  of  friendly  and  hospitable,  the  commu- 
nity might  have  been  delayed  many  years  in  its 
settlement  and  development.  In  justice  to  the 
red  man,  who  was  here  before  us,  for  his  friend- 
ship and  many  acts  of  neighborly  kindness,  there 
is  due  his  memory  a  sentiment  of  gratitude  from 
the  white  race. 

This  beautiful  Indian  village  was  situated  on 
rather  a  high  table  land  with  small  running 
streams  flowing  into  the  river,  which  afforded  ex- 
cellent natural  drainage.  It  was  surrounded  by 
a  bank  of  primeval  forest  which  tempered  the 
cold  winds  of  winter.  Within  the  village  was  a 
profusion  of  stately  trees  which  towered  high, 
affording  ample  shade  in  summer.  Being  little 
undergrowth,  the  ground  was  carpeted  with  a 
luxuriant  coating  of  grass,  and  the  soil  consist- 
ing of  sandy  loam,  the  streets  were  almost  free 
from  mud.  According  to  the  testimony  of  the 
early  pioneer,  the  spot  was  most  beautiful  and 
picturesque — a  feature  that  has  been  retained  to 


THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY 


the  present  time.  Iroquois  is  still  noted  for  the 
beauty  of  its  natural  scenery.  Here  nestled  the 
Indian  village,  its  wigwams  and  play-grounds 
and  gardens.  On  the  south  bank  of  the  river 
was  its  burying  ground.  It  was  here  the  chil- 
dren played  their  innocent  games  of  childhood 
and  the  young  men  planned  for  the  chase.  The 
old  men  gathered  in  groups  and  smoked  their 
pipes  and  told  their  stories  of  adventure  while 
the  women  worked  the  gardens  and  prepared  the 
simple  meal.  Here  too  the  young  lover  wooed 
and  won  his  dark  mate  and  plighted  his  eternal 
love  and  devotion.  Here  the  young  Indian 
maidens  gathered  in  clusters  when  the  evening 
shadows  fell  and  promenaded  or  gave  their  social 
functions.  This  tribe  had  its  social  laws  and  cus- 
toms, which  they  observed.  They  loved  their 
families  and  were  attached  to  their  homes. 

Iroquois  Village 

The  present  village  of  Iroquois  was  platted  by 
Henry  Moore,  June  7,  1836,  as  the  town  of  Con- 
cord, but  was  not  incorporated  until  thirty-nine 
years  later.  It  originally  contained  fifty-two 
blocks,  eleven  streets  running  north  and  south 
and  five  streets  running  east  and  west.  These 
streets  have  names  as  follows:  From  east  to 


4  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

west — Short,  Clinton,  Main,  Hamilton,  Bunker- 
hill,  Lexington,  Spring,  Pickawick,  School,  Sem- 
inary and  Western.  From  north  to  south — Lin- 
coln, Chester,  Walnut,  Iroquois  and  Water.  In 
1845  Aaron  M.  Goodnow,  the  owner,  by  vacating 
deed,  vacated  all  of  the  original  plat  lying  west 
of  Hamilton  street.  Dunning's  addition,  a  strip 
adjoining  the  original  plat  on  the  north,  was  laid 
out  some  years  later;  its  streets  are  not  named. 
The  corporate  limits  extend  south  to  the  north 
bank  of  the  Iroquois  river  and  the  town  lies  on 
both  sides  of  Main  street,  which  is  identical  with 
the  old  Hubbard  Trail.  At  the  present  it  con- 
tains a  population  of  approximately  three  hun- 
dred people. 

Montgomery,  which  was  laid  out  a  year  earlier, 
lies  just  south  of  the  river  and  was  first  in  point 
of  settlement  and  prominence.  It  also  was  built 
up  on  both  sides  of  the  Hubbard  Trail.  The 
original  village  of  Iroquois  was  surveyed  about 
the  same  time  as  Montgomery  and  adjoins  the 
latter  on  the  east;  it  also  lies  south  of  the  river. 
This  village  never  contained  more  than  several 
houses  at  any  one  time.  The  streets  of  Mont- 
gomery and  the  original  Iroquois  have  never  been 
vacated,  although  both  villages  have  been  extinct 
for  over  half  a  century. 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY 


This  group  of  towns  adjoining  one  another, 
and  being  surveyed  about  the  same  time  when 
the  country  was  new  and  the  population  was  ex- 
tremely sparse,  can  be  explained  only  in  one  way : 


Mrs.  Catharene  Mag-gs,  thirty-five  years  a  resident  of  the  ancient  town 
of  Montgomery  and  the  oldest  lady  now  living  in  Concord  Township.  She  is 
jolly  and  looks  on  the  bright  side  of  life.  She  will  soon  celebrate  her 
eighty-sixth  birthday. 

Iroquois  county  had  just  been  blocked  out  from 
the  territory  of  Vermilion  county  on  the  south 
and  from  Cook  county  on  the  north,  and  the 
county  seat  of  the  new  county  thus  formed  was 
about  to  be  located,  As  many  as  eight  other  town 


6  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

sites  were  surveyed  in  the  county  about  the  same 
time  and  for  the  same  purpose- -to  capture  the 
prize.  Men  in  the  early  day  were  selfish  and 
ambitious  as  they  are  now,  and  the  owner  of  a 
large  tract  of  land  who  had  political  influence, 
naturally  desired  to  secure  the  advantages  and 
profits  that  the  location  of  the  county  seat  on  his 
premises  would  bring.  With  him  it  was  not  a 
question  of  the  greatest  good  to  the  largest  num- 
ber, not  the  location  that  would  insure  the  great- 
est convenience  to  the  people  as  a  whole,  but  the 
one  that  would  most  advance  his  individual  in- 
terests. In  the  scramble,  however,  whether  on 
account  of  its  greater  political  influence,  or  be- 
cause of  its  early  prominence  and  being  located 
on  the  main  traveled  highway  from  Danville  and 
Vincennes  to  Chicago,  Montgomery  won  the 
prize  and  became  the  first  seat  of  justice  of  Iro- 
quois  county  in  1837. 

The  first  county  records  were  kept  at  the  house 
of  Isaac  Courtright,  three-fourths  of  a  mile  south 
of  the  village,  the  farm  now  being  owned  by  R.  F. 
Karr.  The  first  commissioners'  court  was  held 
in  a  private  house  located  in  the  village,  owned  by 
William  Armstrong.  The  town  was  named  after 
the  proprietor,  Richard  Montgomery.  The  first 
tavern  in  Montgomery  was  kept  by  Timothy 


THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY 


Locy  in  1831.  David  Meigs,  Richard  Montgom- 
ery and  John  White  followed  as  proprietors  of 
the  public  inn.  The  first  white  men  to  locate 
within  the  town  were  Benjamin  Fry,  George 
Courtright,  Richard  Courtright,  John  White,  the 
widow  McColloch  and  sons,  William  and  Solo- 
mon, and  many  others  whose  names  have  been 
mentioned  in  connection  with  the  early  history 
of  the  township  and  who  were  more  or  less  closely 
associated  with  the  very  early  events  of  the  twin 
villages- -Montgomery  and  Concord. 

Named  Bunkum 

This  group  of  towns,  at  the  beginning  of  their 
history,  were  "derisively  called  Bunkum.  The 
name  in  time  grew  so  popular  that  they  were  not 
generally  known  by  their  "correct  names.  The 
term,  Bunkum,  has  a  well  authenticated  origin. 
It  originated  from  an  incident  in  the  Congress 
of  1819-21.  A  member  from  North  Carolina 
delivered  a  lengthy  oration  on  the  Missouri  ques- 
tion, and  in  the  course  of  which  he  very  naively 
told  those  who  still  remained  listening  that  he  was 
only  talking  for  "Bunkum."  The  term  became 
popular  as  a  slang  word  for  empty  talk  or  unreal 
professions  and  is  used  on  both  sides  of  the 
Atlantic. 


8  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

Its  original  application  to  these  towns  has  been 
explained  in  this  manner,  which  is  not  authenti- 
cated but  appears  credible :  A  party  of  strangers 
were  passing  through  on  their  way  to  Chicago 
and,  finding  there  was  an  ample  supply  on  hand 
of  that  which  maketh  the  heart  glad,  they  decided 
to  remain  over  night.  They  indulged  freely  at 
one  of  the  inns  and  then  strolled  out  to  view  the 
town.  In  the  bloom  of  their  hilarity,  one  of  the 
number  was  observed  to  throw  his  hat  into  the  air 
and  exclaim,  "This  is  Bunkum!"  Whether  he 
referred  to  the  town  or  something  else  is  conjec- 
ture--the  thought  uppermost  in  his  mind  at  the 
moment  will  never  be  known;  but  the  contents 
of  his  |tomach  will  not  admit  of  doubt.  From 
this  incident  the  by-standers  took  up  the  word  and 
passed  it  around.  It  rapidly  spread.  Letters 
posted  anywhere  in  the  United  States  addressed 
to  Bunkum,  Illinois,  would  find  their  Way  to  the 
place. 

The  Government,  however,  never  recognized 
the  name  and  the  post  office  continued  under  the 
name  of  Concord.  In  1871,  when  the  Big  Four 
established  a  station  in  Concord,  they  named  it 
Iroquois.  Then  in  1875,  when  the  town  of  Con- 
cord was  incorporated,  the  village  was  officially 
named  Iroquois,  The  Government  followed  the 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  9 

precedent  and  changed  the  name  of  the  post  office 
to  Iroquois. 

'Iroquois"  is  an  Indian  name  and  received  its 
prominence  from  a  powerful  Indian  Nation  by 
that  name.  Iroquois  river  was  named  after  this 
nation,  then  the  Iroquois  territory,  then  the  town 
south  of  the  river,  then  Iroquois  county,  then  the 
present  railroad  station,  then  the  present  village 
of  Iroquois,  and  finally  the  Government  fell  in 
line  and  named  the  post  office  IROQUOIS. 

While  the  word  Bunkum  has  had  a  tenacious 
life,  it  has  long  since  fallen  into  obnoxious  desue- 
tude, and  is  never  used  in  connection  with  the 
town  except  by  some  resident  who,  after  a  Rip 
Van  Winkle  absence  of  many  years,  returns  to  the 
scenes  of  his  childhood. 

The  first  election  held  in  the  county  was  held 
in  Montgomery  in  1833.  The  first  white  child 
born  in  the  township  was  Wm.  L.  Eastburn  in 
1834.  The  marriage  of  George  Courtright  to 
Agnus  Newcomb  is  believed  to  have  been  the  first 
to  take  place  in  the  county.  The  license  was  ob- 
tained at  Danville  and  the  ceremony  was  per- 
formed at  the  house  of  Isaac  Courtright,  where 
the  county  records  were  kept, 


10  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

Famous  Trial 

In  the  month  of  May,  1836,  Montgomery  was 
the  scene  of  a  famous  trial.  A  man  named  Thom- 
asson  had  been  indicted  in  Cook  county,  charged 
with  the  murder  of  Charles  Legree,  a  resident 
of  the  village  of  Chicago  and  a  blacksmith  by 
trade.  Legree,  with  fifty  dollars  in  his  pocket, 
started  to  walk  from  Chicago  to  Joliet.  On  his 
way  he  was  seen  in  company  with  a  man  on  horse- 
back. The  second  day  his  lifeless  body  was  dis- 
covered near  the  road  and  the  man  who  had  been 
seen  with  him  on  horseback  the  day  before  had 
disappeared.  The  story  rapidly  spread  and  a 
man  named  Thomasson  was  finally  arrested  and 
was  identified  by  several  witnesses  as  the  same 
man  who  was  seen  in  Legree's  company.  A  knife 
identified  as  the  property  of  Legree,  was  also 
found  in  the  possession  of  Thomasson.  A  change 
of  venue  was  taken  to  Iroquois  county  and  the 
prisoner  was  brought  to  Montgomery,  the  new 
county  seat,  for  trial.  In  the  absence  of  a  court 
house  the  trial  was  held  in  the  house  of  Richard 
Montgomery.  Thomas  Ford,  then  a  member  of 
the  Supreme  bench,  was  the  trial  judge.  The 
evidence  was  all  circumstantial,  as  Thomasson 
persisted  in  his  plea  of  not  guilty,  and  there  was 
no  eye  witness  to  the  crime,  other  than  the  guilty 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  11 

party.  The  people  and  the  defendant  were  both 
represented  by  able  counsel.  The  trial  lasted 
more  than  a  day  and  the  circumstantial  evidence 
submitted  to  the  jury  convinced  them  beyond  a 
reasonable  doubt  of  the  defendant's  guilt.  They 
were  out  but  a  few  hours  when  they  returned  a 
verdict  of  guilty.  The  sentence  was  pronounced 
the  same  day  by  the  judge,  and  the  day  set  for 
execution  about  three  weeks  later.  The  con- 
demned man  was  hanged  from  a  walnut  tree 
which  was  then  standing  on  the  north  bank  of 
the  river  near  the  wagon  bridge.  The  tree  stood 
there  for  some  years  after  as  an  object  of  awe 
and  curiosity  to  the  traveler  who  passed  by  on 
the  Hubbard  trail.  It  now  seems  strange  that 
the  first  person  to  commit  murder  in  Cook  county 
should  be  tried,  convicted  and  executed  in  what 
is  now  the  extinct  village  of  Montgomery. 

An  Indian  Maiden 

A  pathetic  story  is  told  of  the  tragic  life  of  a 
young  and  pretty  Indian  maiden,  named  Watch- 
e-kee,  from  whom  Watseka,  the  present  county 
seat  of  Iroquois  county,  derived  its  name.  She 
was  the  niece  of  an  Indian  chief  of  the  Pottawato- 
mies,  and  was  born  and  reared  in  the  Indian  vil- 
lage which  peacefully  nestled  in  the  sheltering 


12  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

forest  where  the  towns  of  Montgomery  and  Con- 
cord are  now  situated.  It  is  said  that  this  maiden 
was  not  only  charming  in  manner  but  was  bright 
and  intelligent.  The  story  has  interest  not  only 
for  its  local  coloring  but  because  it  gives  a  glimpse 
into  the  social  side  of  life  at  a  time  when  the  red 
man's  civilization  was  yielding  to  that  of  the  white 
man.  Beckwith's  History  of  Iroquois  County 
gives  the  story  as  follows : 

'When  Col.  Hubbard  came  among  the  Indians 
on  the  Iroquois,  he  soon  saw  the  necessity  as  a 
matter  of  protection  and  safety,  to  form  more  in- 
timate relations  with  them  than  that  of  mere 
trade,  and  therefore  in  the  course  of  time  mar- 
ried--according  to  the  Indian  custom — an  Indian 
woman  by  the  name  of  Watch-e-kee,  who  was 
the  niece  of  the  Pottawatomie  chief,  Tamin, 
whose  village  was  then  on  the  present  site  of  Con- 
cord ( Buncombe ) .  In  answer  to  an  inquiry  made 

bv  the  writer  as  to  this  matter,  Col.  Hubbard 

»/ 

says :  'I  have  no  wish  to  deny  the  fact  of  her  being 
my  wife,  given  me  by  her  uncle  (the  chief)  when 
she  was  about  ten,  in  the  place  of  his  own  grown 
daughter,  whom  he  presented  to  me  and  whom  I 
declined.  This  little  girl  was  to  take  her  place, 
and  was,  under  my  pledge  to  make  her  my  wife, 
brought  to  me  by  her  mother  at  the  age  of  four- 


THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  13 

teen  or  fifteen.  She  bore  me  a  daughter,  who  died 
at  about  eight  months  old.  I  lived  with  this 
Indian  woman  about  two  years  in  harmony.  Our 
separation  was  by  mutual  agreement,  in  perfect 
friendship,  and  because  I  was  about  to  abandon 
the  Indian  trade,  and  of  course  my  connection 
with  her  tribe.  Both  thought  each  other's  hap- 
piness would  be  promoted  by  separation,  as  it 
doubtless  was.'  The  names  of  the  father  and 
mother  of  Watch-e-kee,  or  Watseka,  as  she  was 
called  by  the  whites,  appears  to  have  been  un- 
known to  both  Hubbard  and  Vasseur,  as  they  so 
state  to  the  writer.  Watseka  was  born  at  the 
Indian  village  at  the  site  of  'Buncombe,'  about 
the  year  1810.  She  is  said  to  have  been  a  hand- 
some, intelligent  and  superior  Indian  woman. 
After  her  separation  from  Hubbard,  according  to 
the  Indian  custom,  and  his  retiring  from  'Bun- 
combe,' she  in  1828  married  Noel  Le  Vasseur, 
who  had  been  left  in  charge  of  the  post.  Her 
tribe,  except  a  remnant,  were  removed  west  after 
the  treaty  of  October,  1833,  and  she  and  Vasseur 
then  removed  to  Bourbonnais  Grove,  on  the  Kan- 
kakee  river.  She  bore  him  several  children,  some 
of  whom  are  still  living  in  Kansas.  She  went 
west  in  1837  with  the  remnant  of  her  tribe,  and 
located  near  Council  Bluffs,  and  there  married  a 


14  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

Frenchman  by  the  name  of  Bergeron.  When 
she  went  west  Mr.  Vasseur  took  her  in  a  carriage 
as  far  as  the  Mississippi  river,  and  it  is  said  made 
ample  provision  for  her,  and  that  she  was  in  com- 
fortable circumstances  until  her  death. 

"About  the  year  1863  she  returned  on  a  visit  to 
Mr.  Vasseur,  at  Bourbonnais  Grove,  and  from 
there  she  plodded  her  weary  way  afoot  and  alone 
to  the  scenes  of  her  childhood,  and  visited  the 
graves  of  her  kindred  and  tribe  near  Middleport 
and  Buncombe.  Sadly  she  left,  as  the  last  Potta- 
watomie  to  set  foot  on  the  soil  of  Iroquois  county, 
and  returned  to  Kansas,  and  about  the  year  1878, 
in  the  'Pottawatomie  Reservation  in  Kansas, 
passed  to  'the  happy  hunting  grounds.' 

"Noel  Le  Vasseur  died  at  his  home  in  Bourbon- 
nais Grove  in  December,  in  1879,  several  months 
after  he  visited  Iroquois  during  the  Old  Settlers' 
Reunion  held  in  the  Dunning  Grove." 

Ancient  Land  Marks 

None  of  the  buildings  that  were  erected  before 
1850  are  standing  on  either  side  of  the  river,  and 
most  of  the  great  forest  trees  that  adorned  the 
place  in  its  early  history  have  disappeared.  The 
old  Fowler  home  is  still  standing  on  the  north 
side  of  Lincoln  street.  It  was  first  occupied  by 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  15 

- 

Doctor  Fowler,  a  practicing  physician  of  an  early 
day,  who  owned  the  farm  upon  which  it  stands. 
It  was  built  in  1854  by  Peter  Frownfelter,  and  is 
now  owned  by  Wm.  Dale  of  Kankakee. 

• 

Another  land  mark,  equally  prominent,  is  the 
two-story  frame  dwelling  standing  on  the  hill  on 
the  west  side  of  the  old  Hubbard  trail.  It  was 
built  two  years  later  by  Daniel  Ayres,  its  first 
occupant.  It  afterwards  became  the  home  of 
Charles  Sherman,  then  John  L.  Donovan,  then 
Peter  Frownfelter,  who  for  many  years  was  the 
postmaster  of  Concord  and  the  school  treasurer 
of  town  27.  It  is  now  owned  and  occupied  by 
John  H.  Francis.  These  buildings  were  con- 
structed from  lumber  hauled  by  ox  team  from 
Logansport  and  LaFayette,  Indiana. 

Another  dwelling,  built  several  years  later, 
faces  Main  street  from  the  east.  It  was  occupied 
for  many  years  by  F.  M.  Karr.  The  present  oc- 
cupant is  Abraham  Carpenter,  an  old  resident, 
and  one  of  the  five  remaining  veterans  of  the 
Civil  War  residing  in  the  township.  He  has 
reached  the  mature  and  interesting  age  of  82 
years  and  is  still  one  of  the  hale  and  hearty,  mo- 
toring through  the  country  in  his  Ford.  The 
material  in  this  building  was  hauled  by  horse 
team  from  Kentland,  Indiana. 


16  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

The  old  town  of  Montgomery  has  none  of  its 
ancient  buildings  remaining  to  tell  the  story  of 
its  former  prominence.  Its  public  inns  and  busi- 
ness houses  and  dwellings,  once  the  rendezvous 
of  the  pioneer,  have  long  since  crumbled  and 
passed  away.  Seven  dwellings  are  now  stand- 
ing on  the  site  of  the  old  town  of  Montgomery, 
but  they  have  been  built  in  later  years,  and  its 
blocks  and  streets  and  alleys,  which  once  had 
visions  of  a  court  house  and  a  jail  and  a  popu- 
lation of  lawyers  and  judges  and  county  officers, 
have  been  converted  into  corn  fields  and  war 
gardens. 

Gurdon  S.  Hubbard's  Trail 

The  following  sketch  is  an  extract  from  the 
autobiography  of  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard,  compiled 
in  1888,  which  explains  the  Hubbard  Trail  in  his 
own  language  and  refers  to  his  visit  to  Iroquois 
in  the  fall  of  1880: 

'The  goods  and  furs  I  proposed  to  transport 
to  and  from  the  Indian  hunting  grounds  on  pack 
horses.  In  this  manner  the  long,  tedious  and  dif- 
ficult passage  through  Mud  lake  into  and  down 
the  Desplaines  river,  would  be  avoided,  and  the 
goods  taken  directly  to  the  Indians  at  their  hunt- 
ing grounds,  instead  of  having  to  be  carried  in 


THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  17 

packs  on  the  backs  of  the  men.  During  the  year 
1822,  I  had  established  a  direct  path  or  track 
from  Iroquois  post  to  Danville,  and  I  now  ex- 
tended it  south  from  Danville  and  north  to  Chi- 
cago, thus  fully  opening  Hubbard's  Trail  from 
Chicago  to  a  point  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  south  of  Danville.  Along  this  'trail'  I 
established  trading  posts  forty  to  fifty  miles  apart. 
This  'trail'  became  the  regularly  traveled  route 
between  Chicago  and  Danville  and  points  be- 
yond, and  was  designated  on  the  old  maps  as 
'Hubbard's  Trail.'  In  the  winter  of  1833-34  the 
General  Assembly  ordered  that  a  State  road  be 
located  from  Vincennes  to  Chicago,  and  that 
mile-stones  be  placed  thereon,  and  from  Danville 
to  Chicago  the  Commissioners  adopted  my  'trail' 
most  of  the  way,  because  it  was  the -most  direct 
route  and  on  the  most  favorable  ground.  Through 
constant  use  by  horses,  ponies  and  men,  the  path 
became  worn  so  deeply  into  the  ground  that  when 
I  last  visited  the  vicinity  of  my  old  Iroquois  post 
(now  called  Bunkum),  in  the  fall  of  1880,  traces 
of  it  were  still  visible,  and  my  grand  nephew,  a 
little  lad  of  fourteen  years,  who  accompanied  me 
on  the  trip,  jumped  out  of  the  carriage  and  ran 
some  distance  in  the  trail  where  I  had  walked 
fifty-eight  years  before." 


18  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

The  above  narrative  does  not  only  describe  the 
Hubbard  Trail  in  Mr.  Hubbard's  own  language, 
but  refers  to  his  visit  to  Iroquois  in  1880.  The 
public  highway  running  through  Iroquois  and 
Montgomery  north  and  south  is  a  part  of  the  old 
Hubbard  :' trail,"  and  the  state  road  referred  to 
in  the  above  sketch.  This  explains  the  promi- 
nence of  the  location  of  Iroquois  in  an  early  day 
and  the  location  of  frame  hotels  on  the  south  side 
of  the  river  in  the  village  of  Montgomery.  Also 
two  frame  hotels  on  the  north  side  of  the  river 
which  stood  nearly  opposite  each  other  on  the 
hill.  These  public  inns  were  two-story  struc- 
tures, were  made  to  accommodate  the  greatest 
number  of  guests  with  the  smallest  amount  of 
space.  Their  small  windows  and  low  ceilings 
would  not  appeal  to  the  traveling  public  of  today, 
yet  according  to  the  testimony  of  the  oldest  citi- 
zens, these  inns  were  crowded  every  night  in  an 
early  day  with  farmers  and  business  men  travel- 
ing along  the  Hubbard  Trail.  These  unsightly 
buildings  remained  standing  until  some  time 
after  the  Civil  War,  in  silent  testimony  of  the 
life  and  activity  of  the  village  during  its  early 
history. 


'THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  19 

Patriotic  Celebrations 

Iroquois  from  its  earliest  history  has  been  fa- 
mous for  its  celebrations  of  our  national  Inde- 
pendence Day.  July  the  4th  has  been  associated 
with  patriotic  demonstrations.  Two  years  only 
have  been  permitted  to  escape,  one  when  an  epi- 
demic of  small-pox  prevailed,  and  this  Centen- 
nial year,  when  the  citizens  decided  to  support 
Watseka  in  its  county  celebration. 

In  an  early  day  the  people  assembled  in  a  grove 
on  the  north  bank  of  the  river,  but  when  this  grove 
was  converted  into  a  corn  field  and  its  trees  into 
saw-logs,  the  village  purchased  a  twenty-acre 
tract  of  timber  from  William  Dunning.  This 
was  made  into  a  park  and  received  his  name. 
This  park  is  centrally  located  facing  Main  street 
on  the  east,  and  is  well  adapted  for  the  accommo- 
dation and  comfort  of  large  gatherings. 

Before  the  country  was  well  settled  the  people 
came  for  many  miles  to  celebrate  and  to  meet  old 
friends  widely  separated.  In  latter  days,  while 
these  gatherings  continue  large,  they  are  made 
up  mostly  of  the  population  of  the  immediate 
vicinity. 

Old  Settlers  Reunion 

In  1879  an  Old  Settlers'  Reunion  was  held  at 
Iroquois,  which  continued  three  days.  The  at- 


20  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

tendance  was  conservatively  estimated  at  seven  to 
eight  thousand  people.  A  great  effort  had  been 
made  to  secure  the  presence  of  all  the  old  settlers 
then  living.  Much  time  was  spent  in  looking  up 
names  and  addresses  and  sending  personal  letters 
to  the  pioneers  of  the  country  still  living.  Free 
entertainment  was  offered  to  all  who  came.  Amos 
O.  Whiteman,  prominent  in  local  history,  was 
president,  and  Salem  Ely  was  secretary.  The 
proceedings  were  reported  verbatim  by  William 
Shortridge,  an  old  resident,  and  later  official  court 
reporter  of  the  county.  This  gathering  of  these 
old  settlers  has  a  great  and  increasing  historic 
value.  It  was  the  first  and  the  last  great  assem- 
bling of  the  early  pioneers  whose  recitals  of  their 
early  experiences  and  the  hardships  in  the  new 
country  have  been  recorded  and  preserved.  The 
men  who  made  the  history  gave  it  in  their  own  lan- 
guage. The  pioneers  who  addressed  the  assem- 
bly were:  Judge  Franklin  Blades,  Judge  S.  R. 
Moore,  Hon.  John  Wentworth,  the  first  member 
of  Congress  of  the  district,  familiarly  known  as 
"Long  John" ;  Hon.  Hiram  Vennum,  Noel  Vas- 
seur,  who  died  two  months  later,  Amos  O.  White- 
man, James  R.  Reese,  C.  A.  Lake,  Augustus 
Bingham,  Thomas  Barker,  Moses  H.  Messer, 
and  Hon.  Mica j  ah  Stanley.  They  had  been  se- 


'THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  21 

lected  from  the  pioneers  who  lived  within  a  radius 
of  which  in  an  early  day,  Iroquois,  or  rather 
Montgomery,  was  the  social  and  political  center. 
These  orators  rose  to  the  occasion  and  their 
rugged  eloquence  touched  the  hearts  of  the  people 
as  they  rehearsed  the  tragic  story  of  the  hard- 
ships and  bitter  experiences  of  the  new  country 
through  which  they  had  triumphantly  passed. 

These  speeches  are  here  embodied,  not  only  on 
account  of  their  local  historic  value,  but  because 
the  pioneer  history  of  Concord  and  Montgomery 
is  closely  interwoven  with  that  of  Iroquois  county 
and  the  immediate  surrounding  country.  Col. 
Wentworth,  of  Chicago,  who  had  served  from 
1843  to  1851  as  representative  of  what  was  then 
the  Fourth  Congressional  district,  of  which  Iro- 
quois county  was  a  part,  was  the  first  speaker 
presented  and  delivered  the  following  address: 

Hon.  John  Wentworth's  Address 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  I  have  no  doubt  that 
many  of  you  here  today  have  great  pleasure  in 
meeting  your  old  friends,  and  I  assure  you  that, 
however  great  your  pleasure  may  be,  mine  is  as 
great  as  any  of  you  can  enjoy  on  this  occasion. 
I  long  have  wanted  such  an  opportunity  as  this, 
when  I  could  meet  the  people  of  Iroquois  county 


22  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

and  the  people  of  the  twenty-two  congressional 
counties  I  used  to  represent  in  Congress;  where 
all  party  affiliation  and  names  could  be  laid  aside, 
where  we  could  meet  again  as  brothers,  rejoicing 
in  each  other's  happiness  and  society  and  talk 
over  our  hopes  for  the  future. 

In  these  meetings  you  can  renew  your  old  as- 
sociations and  tell  the  rising  generation  how  much 
their  fathers  and  grandfathers  suffered  in  the 
early  settlement  of  the  county.  I  tell  you,  fellow 
citizens,  of  all  the  suffering  in  this  country  I  ever 
saw,  Iroquois  county  suffered  the  most  in  early 
times.  There  was  no  community  through  which 
I  passed  that  attracted  my  sympathies  as  did 
this;  yet  I  saw  some  of  the  finest  land  the  sun 
ever  shone  upon  among  you,  and  I  saw  hundreds 
of  acres  that  were  overflowed,  so  much  so  that 
people  could  not  get  to  market.  You  suffered 
from  disease  and  the  sudden  overflow  of  your 
streams,  and  when  you  went  away  on  a  visit  for 
a  few  days,  you  did  not  know  when  you  could 
get  home. 

In  the  spring  of  1843  I  made  my  first  visit  to 
your  vicinity.  In  coming  through  from  Danville, 
I  rode  out  about  twelve  miles  to  a  man's  house 
by  the  name  of  Gilbert.  The  road  on  which  I 
was  traveling  came  to  a  stream  of  water ;  I  could 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  23 

see  where  the  road  went  into  the  stream  and  I 
could  see  where  it  came  out  on  the  other  side,  so 
in  I  went.  Old  father  Gilbert  saw  me  and  hal- 
looed, "Stop,  stop,  that  stream  is  out  of  ride/' 
That  was  something  I  had  not  heard  before  and 
I  did  not  know  what  it  meant.  I  stopped  my 
horse  and  said,  "Say  that  again."  He  said,  "This 
stream  is  out  of  ride."  I  asked  what  I  should  do, 
and  he  said,  "Head  it,"  and  that  I  did  not  under- 
stand. I  backed  my  horse  around  and  got  out 
of  the  stream.  He  then  told  me  to  go  up  the 
stream  and  cross  the  sources.  He  says,  "Up  some 
little  ways  you  will  cross  one  of  them,  a  little 
further  on  you  will  cross  another  one,  and  when 
you  have  crossed  all  of  them  come  back  again  and 
get  on  this  road."  I  followed  his  advice  and  thus 
I  traveled,  eating  my  breakfast  at  Danville,  and 
seeing  no  other  person.  But  there  was  plenty  of 
prairie  and  plenty  of  these  little  streams  to  ford, 
not  knowing  where  I  was.  I  thought  it  was  going 
to  Congress  under  difficulties.  The  track  I  was 
on  led  to  a  ridge,  and  there  I  found  a  gentleman 
living  by  the  name  of  Rothgeb,  where  I  stopped. 
He  had  no  hay  for  my  horse,  but  he  had  plenty 
of  corn.  When  I  got  to  the  house  I  told  him  my 
situation.  The  old  lady  began  by  saying  they 
had  nothing  to  eat.  I  said,  "Tear  a  board  off  the 


24  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

side  of  the  house;  I  am  hungry  enough  to  eat 
anything."  I  have  eaten  a  great  many  good 
dinners  at  different  places  and  with  different  men, 
but  I  have  no  recollection  of  ever  eating  a  meal 
that  tasted  better  to  me  in  my  life  than  that  one 
prepared  for  me  there. 

The  next  morning  I  started  to  Middleport  and 
I  found  another  stream  "out  of  ride,"  and  I  had 
to  "head"  that.  When  I  got  to  Beaver  creek  I 
found  a  man  by  the  name  of  Rakestraw — and 
when  I  got  to  Washington  I  got  the  old  fellow  a 
post  office.  I  don't  know  how  long  he  kept  it; 
there  was  nobody  but  him  there. 

The  way  I  got  across  that  stream  was  to  ride 
in  a  boat  and  swim  my  horse  by  the  side  of  the 
boat,  and  the  old  man  took  my  wagon  to  pieces 
and  boated  it  across.  I  think  I  visited  almost 
every  man  in  the  county  and  formed  the  acquaint- 
ance of  almost  everybody,  and  it  paid  me  well, 
for  the  people  were  very  kind  to  me.  In  all  my 
positions  I  do  not  remember  any  greater  kind- 
ness than  the  people  of  this  part  of  Illinois  showed 
to  me,  and  I  never  had  an  opportunity  before  of 
returning  my  thanks  to  them  for  their  almost 
unmerited  generosity.  -I  had  to  take  my  horse 
and  buggy  and  go  from  Chicago  down  to  La 
Salle,  and  then  to  Bureau  county,  and  then  cross 


'THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  25 

over  to  McLean  county  to  Bloomington,  and 
from  there  to  Danville,  and  then  up  through  here 
to  Chicago  again.  The  young  people  here  may 
know  something  of  what  their  fathers  had  to 
undergo  when  they  hauled  their  grain  to  Chicago 
to  get  their  living.  During  my  travels  among  you 
many  incidents  took  place,  one  of  which  I  shall 
relate  to  you. 

When  I  got  out  this  side  of  Danville  to  a  place 
called  Denmark,  where  nobody  knew  me  nor  did 
I  know  anybody,  I  saw  one  man  edging  around 
as  though  he  wanted  to  get  acquainted  with  me, 
and  I  gave  him  the  opportunity.  He  said,  "Are 
you  this  long  John  that  is  running  for  Congress?'1 
I  told  him  I  was.  He  said,  'Lay  low;  I  am  ac- 
quainted here  and  know  them ;  they  are  all  against 
you.  And  let  me  tell  you  not  to  run- -the  ques- 
tion- -just  you  lay  low  and  don't  you  talk  the 
question.  Tell  them  something  about  improving 
the  country."  And  he  commenced  introducing 
me.  I  afterwards  found  out  his  name  was  John 
Young.  I  told  them  about  the  condition  of  the 
country,  what  we  needed  by  way  of  improve- 
ments, and  made  them,  as  I  thought,  a  pretty 
good  speech,  considering  that  I  had  to  lay  low 
on  the  question.  There  was  one  gentleman  there 
who  seemed  to  be  boss  of  the  town  and  had  the 


26  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

post  office.  He  said,  "Mr.  Wentworth,  we  would 
be  very  much  pleased  to  hear  your  views  on  na- 
tional politics."  He  had  no  more  than  got  the 
words  out  of  his  mouth  before  Young  stepped  up 
and  said,  "He  is  not  going  to  run  the  question. 
If  you  want  that  done,  bring  down  a  man  of  your 
own  and  let  him  talk  the  question."  I  took  John 
Young's  advice  and  would  not  let  the  old  fellow 
draw  me  out.  Some  years  after,  when  I  had  for- 
gotten all  about  it,  one  day  while  walking  the 
streets  of  Chicago,  a  man  grabbed  me  by  the  arm 
and  said,  "I  want  to  see  you  once  more  before  I 
die."  He  said,  "You  have  been  in  Congress  until 
you  have  given  away  all  the  s\yamp  land  and  got 
the  Illinois  Central  railroad.  Now,  I  want  to 
know  how  long  it  would  have  taken  to  do  that  if 
you  had  talked  the  question  all  the  time."  In 
passing  through  the  south  part  of  the  county  once, 
I  rode  up  to  the  house  of  an  old  gentleman  who 
had  gone  away  from  home,  so  I  thought  I  would 
talk  to  his  wife  about  politics.  They  had  recently 
come  from  England.  I  asked  her  about  her  hus- 
band and  she  said,  "I  don't  know  anything  about 
his  politics,  but  I  heard  him  say  the  other  night 
that  he  was  for  electing  Long  John  to  Parlia- 
ment." 

Passing  along  for  three  or  four  hours  I  came 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY'  27 

into  the  timber  where  there  were  some  men  erect- 
ing a  log  house.  I  rode  up  and  asked  them  some- 
thing in  relation  to  their  views  about  the  legisla- 
ture, and  one  of  them  said,  "Let  these  men  alone. 
We  have  got  all  the  work  we  can  do,  and  we  are 
going  for  the  tallest  man  out."  I  said,  "You  are 
going  for  the  longest  man  out."  He  said,  "Yes." 
Then  I  said,  "Maybe  you  would  like  to  see  me 
stand  up,"  and  I  stood  up  and  they  all  laughed. 
I  soon  got  on  the  good  side  of  them  and  then 
they  wanted  me  to  come  over  and  make  a  speech. 
I  said,  "No;  if  another  fellow  comes  along  taller 
than  me,  you  go  for  him,  but  I  will  take  the  con- 
sequences if  you  vote  for  the  longest  man." 

I  once  went  to  Esquire  Hill's,  out  near  Kan- 
kakee.  I  had  been  getting  my  buggy  out  of  a 
slough  and  was  very  much  tired  out;  I  went  up 
and  asked  for  some  dinner.  They  informed  me 
I  could  have  it.  The  esquire  was  away.  I  asked 
for  a  bed  to  lie  down.  The  room  in  which  they 
put  me  was  partitioned  off  with  boards  up  and 
down  and  they  hadn't  newspapers  enough  then  to 
paste  over  the  cracks.  I  heard  one  of  the  girls 
say,  "I  know  it's  him- -father  said  he  was  six  feet 
and  a  half."  Another  said,  "I  think  this  is  a 
younger  man."  One  of  them  said,  'It's  quick 
telling."  And  they  got  a  rule  and  measured  me. 


28  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

* 

While  they  were  gone  I  straightened  out  as  many 
inches  as  I  could.  Of  course  I  was  asleep  and 
they  made  me  six  feet  and  eight  inches.  I  got  my 
dinner  and  went  out  on  the  prairie  and  met  the 
esquire  coming  home.  He  said,  "Did  you  go  to 
the  house?"  'Yes,  sir."  "Did  you  get  your  din- 
ner?" 'Yes,  sir,  and  the  girls  measured  me." 
"Measured  you?"  "Yes,  sir."  "Well,  the  girls 
will  never  hear  the  last  of  that." 

It  generally  took  me  several  days  to  get  around 
as  I  had  to  see  the  people.  I  found  the  best  way 
was  to  find  out  the  feeling  of  the  people,  and  if  I 
found  a  man  was  against  me,  take  John  Young's 
advice  and  lay  low  on  the  question. 

When  I  first  came  among  you  there  were  but 
four  post  offices  before  Kankakee  county  was  cut 
off;  one  at  Mount  Langdon,  one  at  Middleport, 
one  at  Milford  and  one  at  this  place.  I  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  it  was  pretty  hard  to  keep  up 
a  correspondence  with  the  county  when  they  had 
a  mail  on  horse-back  only  once  a  week.  I  said 
here  is  a  people  doing  business  with  Chicago  and 
these  were  all  the  facilities  they  had,  and  the  way 
to  get  you  more  I  did  not  know.  When  I  said 
anything  about  it,  the  Postmaster  General  would 
fling  back  into  my  face  that  it  did  not  pay ;  it  was 
costing  the  government  two  hundred  dollars  a 


THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  29 

year.  I  told  him  to  give  us  more  post  offices  and 
we  would  settle  up  the  country  and  it  would  pay. 
The  clerk  came  down  to  my  house  and  he  was  a 
favorite  clerk  of  mine.  He  said  we  are  going  to 
weigh  that  mail  and  if  it  comes  to  as  much  as  you 
say  we  are  going  to  do  something  for  you.  The 
next  morning  I  went  up  to  the  office.  I  saw  a 
number  of  old  volumes  of  reports  there,  belong- 
ing to  one  man  as  much  as  another,  and  are 
printed  and  sent  to  the  people,  and  I  was  entitled 
to  the  franking  privilege,  and  I  got  a  good  deal 
of  work,  I  tell  you.  I  got  every  old  paper  and 
bundle  I  thought  anybody  would  read  here  in 
Iroquois  county.  Then  I  went  into  the  post  office 
and  asked  about  those  seeds  that  were  to  be  scat- 
tered around.  I  thought  my  constituents  would 
like  some  of  them.  In  about  two  weeks  a  letter 
came  from  the  Chicago  post  office  inquiring  what 
was  to  be  done  with  all  the  mail  for  Danville,  as 
they  would  have  to  double  their  trips. 

Now  you  are  receiving  mail  by  steam  on  almost 
every  train  that  passes.  At  that  time  Wisconsin 
on  the  north  and  Iowa  on  the  west,  were  only  ter- 
ritories. We  had  then  to  find  out  what  the  people 
wanted  and  then  try  to  get  it.  I  do  not  know 
what  you  would  have  done  if  we  had  not  got  the 
Illinois  Central  railroad,  and  that  was  my  song 


30  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

and  my  labor  when  I  was  your  representative, 
and  I  achieved  it,  and  a  grand  result  it  was.  And 
then  I  bid  the  people  here  good-bye,  for  I  was  set 
off  in  another  district. 

Here  is  a  list  of  the  votes  I  received  when  I 
ran  for  Congress.  I  first  received  195  votes  and 
the  other  man  145,  making  a  total  of  340  votes. 
The  next  time  I  got  217  and  the  other  man  135, 
making  352  votes,  an  increase  of  12  votes.  I 
supposed  somebody  had  moved  in.  Again  I  re- 
ceived 290  votes,  and  the  other  fellow  177  votes, 
making  467  votes,  and  the  last  time  I  ran  in  1850, 
I  got  333  votes  and  the  other  man  274,  making 
607  votes  in  eight  years..  When  I  look  back  and 
see  how  hard  I  worked  and  the  difficulties  I  en- 
dured, I  think  I  worked  pretty  hard  for  these  333 
votes  for  my  election.  And  after  I  got  the  Illi- 
nois Central  railroad  I  thought  I  had  paid  you 
pretty  well  for  what  you  had  done  for  me.  When 
I  left  you  there  were  seven  post  offices;  one  at 
Courtright's  Mills,  Middleport,  Mount  Langdon, 
Milford,  Plato,  Beaverville  and  Iroquois. 

Now,  my  fellow  citizens,  you  have  come  to- 
gether today  to  inaugurate  an  old  settlers'  meet- 
ing. I  would  advise  you  to  keep  them  up,  for 
I  think  it  will  be 'the  best  legacy  you  can  leave 
to  your  children  to  let  them  know  you  were  the 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  31 

first  settlers  of  this  county.  There  is  nothing  like 
these  old  settlers'  meetings  to  keep  these  things 
revived.  I  have  met  people  here  today  that  I 
thought  were  dead ;  and  perhaps  some  of  you  may 
have  thought  I  was  dead.  You  have  come  to- 
gether today  to  renew  your  old  friendships  and  to 
exchange  greetings  in  this  county  that  was  once 
so  desolate,  but  has  now  been  rescued  by  the  hand 
of  industry.  Again  I  urge  it  upon  you  to  keep 
up  these  meetings. 

When  I  came  around  here  the  first  time  solicit- 
ing your  suffrages,  they  told  me  I  was  the  first 
candidate  that  had  ever  set  foot  in  Iroquois 
county.  I  suppose  you  see  plenty  of  them  nowa- 
days. I  had  then  to  visit  almost  every  house, 
and  I  am  glad  I  did  so. 

There  are  a  great  many  aged  people  here  today 
that  perhaps  will  never  have  another  opportunity 
of  speaking  to  you  again  and  I  will  give  you  an 
opportunity  to  listen  to  them. 

I  thank  you  for  coming  here  today.  I  am  here 
to  thank  those  that  supported  me,  and  to  those 
that  are  not  here,  to  thank  their  children  and 
grandchildren  for  what  they  did  for  me. 

James  H.  Reese  was  the  second  speaker.  He 
was  one  of  the  first  settlers  and  the  official  sur- 


32  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

veyor  who  laid  out  the  towns  of  Montgomery  and 
Concord.  He  returned  nearly  a  half  century 
later  and  told  the  brief  but  interesting  story  of 
his  achievement.  He  said: 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen :  I  am  not  here  to  make 
you  a  speech.  I  was  called  upon  simply  because 
I  was  an  old  settler.  I  came  here  in  the  fall  of 
1834  and  left  on  the  31st  of  October.  I  had  an 
appointment  as  surveyor  under  John  McDonald, 
but  he  had  never  taken  the  oath  of  office  and  could 
not  act.  The  next  spring  after  that  I  returned 
and  laid  out  the  town  of  Montgomery.  I  went 
to  Danville  and  got  my  appointment  there.  I 
left  there  again  in  the  spring  of  1835  and  I  re- 
turned in  the  spring  of  1836  and  laid  out  Con- 
cord. At  that  time  it  was  twenty-five  miles  to  a 
house,  which  was  then  called  Hubbard's  Trading 
House.  There  was  another  located  on  the  Kan- 

• 

kakee  river.  I  left  there  and  went  to  Parish 
Grove  on  Sugar  creek.  The  country  at  that  time 
was  very  sparsely  settled,  and  we  did  not  use 
floors  in  our  houses,  and  we  used  benches  in  place 
of  chairs.  I  have  met  but  one  person  here  today 
whom  I  have  any  recollection  of  seeing  before  in 
this  county ;  there  may  be  others  here,  but  I  have 
not  met  them  yet.  It  has  been  about  forty  years 
since  I  left  here.  I  am  glad  indeed  to  see  so  many 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  33 

people  here  today,  especially  so  many  aged 
people,  and  I  hope  you  may  enjoy  yourselves.  I 
thank  you  for  your  attention. 

The  Hon.  C.  A.  Lake  of  Kankakee  was  the 
next  speaker.  He  was  not  one  of  the  first  set- 
tlers, but  came  to  the  new  country  early  enough 
to  be  able  to  speak  from  personal  experience.  He 
said: 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  I  do  not  know  that  I 
can  be  regarded  by  you  as  an  old  settler,  although 
I  have  lived  near  here  since  1852,  a  period  of 
about  twenty-six  years.  So  far  as  the  change  of 
the  country  is  concerned,  it  has  been  wonderful. 
When  I  heard  of  this  meeting  I  was  very  anxious 
to  come.  I  thought  I  would  like  to  see  the  people 
who  inhabited  this  part  of  the  county  before  I 
came.  I  have  been  well  paid  for  coming,  and  for 
the  opportunity  to  hear  Col.  Wentworth. 

I  came  to  Kankakee  the  same  year  the  county 
was  organized,  which  was  in  the  fall  of  1853.  The 
Illinois  Central  railroad  was  constructed  as  far 
as  our  place  at  that  time.  I  believe  there  were 
only  seven  houses  there  then ;  a  small  frame  house 
on  Court  street,  a  boarding  house  or  two  near 
the  depot,  and  a  stone  hotel  erected  by  Mr.  Van- 
meter.  There  was  no  bridge  across  the  Kanka- 
kee river  above  Wilmington.  In  a  year  or  two 


34  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

later  I  came  to  your  court  house  in  Middleport. 
It  was  not  very  large  then,  but  the  means  of 
getting  there  were  better  than  when  Col.  Went- 
worth  used  to  visit  the  place.  We  would  go  to 
Onarga  and  then  across  to  Middleport  by  stage. 
While  I  recognize  this  county  now  as  one  of  the 
best  for  land,  I  did  not  think  so  then.  It  did  not 
look  right  to  me-  -I  was  raised  in  the  timber  and 
it  looked  too  uniform  and  dead.  It  appeared  to 
me  that  we  would  never  get  rid  of  the  great  quan- 
tity of  water  on  the  ground- -it  looked  like  a 
swamp.  But  now  we  see  elegant  houses  and 
farms  and  growing  orchards. 

I  heard  of  this  place  called  Bunkum  when  I 
first  came  to  the  county.  When  I  heard  of  Mo- 
mence  and  Middleport,  Bunkum  sounded  as  large 
and  prominent  as  any  of  them.  I  never  saw  the 
place  until  about  five  years  ago  when  I  came 
down  here  on  the  Fourth  of  July. 

A  great  change  has  come  over  this  county  since 
the  first  settlers  came.  This  land,  which  was  not 
considered  very  good,  has  been  turned  to  a  pro- 
ductive purpose.  It  has  been  fertilized  by  the 
industrious  husbandman  until  all  over  the  county 
everything  bears  the  mark  of  thrift;  instead  of 
the  swamps  you  now  have  the  harvest  fields.  You 
now  have  a  railroad  across  the  western  part  of 


'THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY5  35 

your  county ;  you  have  one  running  east  and  west 
and  another  running  diagonally  across  the  county. 
In  place  of  the  prairie  grass  growing  as  high  as  a 
horse's  back,  you  have  farms,  orchards  and  flower 
gardens,  which  make  it  look  as  though  it  had 
been  settled  for  one  hundred  years. 

This  part  of  the  country  has  been  overlooked- 
that  makes  it  settle  faster  now  than  formerly. 
Then  the  earlier  settlers  passed  on  west  to  where 
it  was  more  rolling.  Before  the  Illinois  Central 
railroad  was  built  you  were  in  the  background, 
but  since  then  it  has  built  up  faster  because  the 
country  wras  settled  farther  west.  Who  can  tell 
what  this  county  will  be  in  twenty-five  years? 
These  low  lands,  once  regarded  as  almost  worth- 
less, are  now  converted  into  nice  farms,  and  there 
is  no  limit  to  their  production.  It  will  some  day 
be  the  richest  portion  of  the  country.  Iroquois 
and  Kankakee  counties  will  be  classed  among  the 
most  fertile  and  productive  of  the  great  state  of 
Illinois. 

Pioneer  Story  by  Foster  Moore 
Mr.  Foster  Moore  settled  near  Iroquois  as  early 
as  1831.    He  came  from  Ohio.    His  address  is  a 
most  graphic  narrative  of  his  early  experience  in 
the  new  country.    He  said : 


36  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

My  Fellow  Citizens:  Not  being  in  the  habit 
of  making  speeches,  perhaps  some  of  you  would 
rather  not  hear  me.  I  have  been  forty-eight  years 
in  this  country,  called  the  county  of  Iroquois.  I 
came  here  and  settled  with  a  large  family- -my 
father's  family ;  I  was  not  married  then.  I  have 
been  breaking  the  ice  and  draining  land  for  sev- 
eral years ;  I  have  seen  a  great  deal  of  it,  and  per- 
haps it  may  be  worth  relating.  I  have  helped  to 
bridge  the  Kankakee  river  with  hay.  When  the 
ice  was  not  sufficiently  strong  to  bear  us  we  would 
throw  hay  on  it  and  run  the  water  over  it  and  let 
it  freeze,  and  in  that  way  make  a  bridge.  I  have 
gone  over  this  route  from  the  Wabash  to  Chicago, 
I  expect  fifty  times,  when  there  were  no  houses 
to  stop  at.  We  had  to  carry  our  provisions  and 
horse  feed  along  with  us.  Today  I  feel  proud 
that  I  am  permitted  to  behold  as  good  a  county  as 
this,  which  used  to  be  so  uninviting.  We  now 
have  beautiful  farms  where  once  all  was  ponds 
and  lakes.  I  have  traversed  the  Kankakee  river 
from  its  source  to  where  it  ends;  I  have  visited 
Beaver  lake  and  caught  fish  where  corn  is  now 
growing.  I  used  to  meet  Col.  Wentworth  on 
the  streets  of  Chicago,  and  go  to  his  office  and  get 
blank  forms  of  deeds.  I  worked  on  the  first 


THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  37 

building  on  Lake  street  in  Chicago  in  the  fall  of 
1832,  being  a  ship  carpenter  by  trade. 

Col.  Wentworth  desires  that  I  tell  you  an  anec- 
dote on  him,  which  happened  when  he  was  run- 
ning for  representative  to  Congress  in  this  dis- 
trict. He  had  been  down  south  of  here  and  was 
making  his  way  back  to  Chicago.  I  was  then 
living  about  five  miles  from  the  county  seat  of 
this  county  and  the  water  was  very  high ;  about  a 
mile  and  a  half  north  of  my  house  was  Sugar 
creek,  and  the  water  was  backed  up  over  the 
bridge,  and  when  the  Colonel  started  to  cross 
the  stream  he  missed  the  bridge  and  went  into 
the  water,  and,  being  a  very  tall  man,  he  took  the 
horse  by  the  mane  and  piloted  him  to  the  shore 
and  came  back  to  my  house  to  dry.  At  another 
time  there  was  a  lawyer  by  the  name  of  Brown, 
from  Chicago,  who  came  through  there,  and  his 
horse  was  drowned,  and  the  old  lawyer  was  the 
next  thing  to  it.  The  next  day  they  fished  his 
papers  out  of  the  creek. 

I  am  rejoiced  to  see  so  many  of  the  old  settlers 
here  today  and  I  hope  I  may  have  an  opportunity 
to  have  a  friendly  chat  with  each  of  you  before  I 
leave  the  ground. 


38  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

Address  by  Judge  Blades 

Judge  Franklin  Blades  began  his  professional 
career  at  Iroquois  as  a  practicing  physician. 
Early  in  life  he  studied  law  and  entered  upon  its 
practice  in  Watseka.  He  advanced  rapidly  in  his 
profession  and  was  elected  circuit  judge.  He 
spent  his  declining  years  in  California.  He  was 
extremely  popular  with  the  people  whom  he 
served.  His  sparkling  good  nature  and  his  apt- 
ness in  story-telling  made  him  a  favorite  speaker 
at  public  gatherings.  This  happy  faculty  is  well 
illustrated  in  his  address  on  this  occasion,  which 
follows : 

Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  It 
does  not  seem  to  me  to  be  hardly  fair  that  I  should 
be  called  upon  to  address  you  now,  for  two  or 
three  reasons.  It  would  be  well  enough  were 
there  not  genuine  old  settlers  here,  but  I  see  those 
here  who  were  called  old  settlers  when  I  first 
came  to  the  county.  I  am  a  good  enough  old 
settler  until  I  get  into  their  company.  When  I 
am  away  from  these  old  men  who  have  lived  in 
this  county  ever  since  I  was  born,  and  I  am  in 
company  with  people  not  much  older  than  I  am, 
I  pass  myself  off  as  an  old  settler.  To  be  called 
out  here  in  the  presence  of  these  gray-haired, 

venerable  men  is  hardly  fair,    I  see  here  on  the 


'THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  39 

i 

platform  my  venerable  and  excellent  friend, 
Mica j  ah  Stanley,  who  came  here  in  1830,  and 
George  Courtright,  who  came  here  about  the  same 
time  and  who,  I  understand,  was  the  first  white 
man  married  in  this  county,  and  Leonard  Hogle, 
who  has  been  here  forty  years;  and  Hiram  Ven- 
num  and  Squire  Coughenour  and  Uncle  John 
Fry,  and  my  old  friend  John  Wilson.  When  I 
am  in  the  presence  of  such  men  I  feel  almost  like 
a  youth,  although  I  am  on  the  down-hill  grade  of 
life,  being  well  on  toward  fifty.  Many  of  you 
venerable  men  remember  me  when  I  came  to  this 

• 

county  almost  a  boy.  It  seems  to  me  a  good 
while  ago.  It  is  twenty-eight  years  since  I  came 
here  and  was  taken  under  the  wing  of  Dr.  Fowler. 
Doctor  Fowler  was  then  considered  rather  an  old 
doctor  and  had  a  good  reputation  among  the  old 
settlers  of  the  county.  In  those  long  years  ago 
I  was  a  doctor  and  was  introduced  and  com- 
mended to  the  people  by  him.  I  was  liberally 
patronized  by  the  people  and  made  many  friends 
who  have  continued  to  be  friends  to  this  day. 

I  got  along  fairly  well  in  my  profession  for  a 
youngster.  But  in  later  years  I  have  often  won- 
dered why  it  was  that  people  employed  me.  I 
was  conceity  enough  then  to  think  it  was  all  right. 
In  later  years  I  came  to  understand  how  much  I 


40  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

lacked  'by  experience.  I  am  here  reminded  to 
tell  an  anecdote  of  myself  at  my  own  expense- 
an  incident  which  happened  to  me  in  the  days  of 
my  youth.  There  dwelt  at  Lister's  Point  an  old 
gentleman  by  the  name  of  Lister — many  who  are 
here  today  knew  him  well.  It  was  the  first  season 
I  came  here  to  Bunkum.  The  old  gentleman  was 
sick  and  he  sent  for  Doctor  Fowler  to  come  and 
see  him.  The  doctor  undertook  to  palm  me  off 
on  him.  I  went  and  found  the  old  gentleman  sit- 
ting out  in  the  door-yard  in  a  chair.  As  I  ap- 
proached he  said,  "You  are  a  doctor,  I  suppose." 
I  said,  'Yes,  sir."  He  said,  'Young  man,  you 
can  go  home.  I  don't  want  any  boys  doctoring 
me."  Of  course  I  was  much  mortified,  but  I 
couldn't  find  it  in  my  heart  to  blame  the  old  gen- 
tleman. I  was  not  much  in  the  habit  of  relating 
this  story  of  myself  in  those  early  days,  but  of 
late  years  I  can  afford  to  tell  it. 

Again,  I  am  disappointed  in  being  called  upon 
to  talk,  for  I  expected  to  hear  Mr.  Wentworth, 
who  is  a  man  of  high  reputation  and  deservedly  so, 
and  of  large  experience  in  this  county.  Whatever 
may  have  been  the  prejudices  which,  to  a  greater 
or  less  extent,  prevailed  against  him  on  account 
of  policies  when  he  was  a  younger  man,  such 
prejudices  no  longer  exist.  He  'possesses  a  great 


"THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  41 

fund  of  information  concerning  the  early  history 
of  this  county  and  is  withal  a  very  agreeable  and 
entertaining  man.  I  am  much  disappointed  in 
not  being  able  to  hear  him.  I  also  expected  to 
hear  Mr.  Beckwith  of  Danville,  for,  although  his 
age  is  not  greater  than  mine,  there  are  few  men  so 
well  informed  as  he  as  to  the  early  history  of  the 
northwest,  and  as  to  all  this  part  of  Illinois.  I 
do  not  know  of  any  man  so  well  informed  in  our 
early  history  as  he,  nor  one  possessing  such  a 
fund  of  anecdote  and  personal  reminiscence.  It 
would  have  been  a  rare  treat  to  have  had  him  here 
today,  and  let  me  tell  you  old  gentlemen,  I  would 
not  wonder  if  he  could  tell  you  almost  as  much  of 
your  personal  history  as  you  know  yourself.  I 
would  not  wonder  if  he  could  tell  you  things  about 
yourselves  that  you  have  forgotten. 

I  shall  not  undertake  to  relate  much  of  my  own 
personal  experience,  although  I  have  in  my  time 
witnessed  great  changes,  and  have  seen  the 
greater  part  of  the  development  and  growth  of 
this  county.  As  I  came  here  from  Watseka 
today,  and  saw  the  splendid  farms  and  farm 
houses  and  vast,  waving  fields  of  corn,  and  the 
orchards  and  groves  of  timber  where  formerly 
none  were  growing,  I  could  not  but  be  amazed 
at  the  change  that  had  come  over  the  county.  It 


A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 


is  seldom  that  I  have  come  this  way  for  several 
years  and  doubtless  I  can  appreciate  this  change 
more  readily  than  you  who  have  seen  it  almost 
insensibly  take  place  from  year  to  year  and  have 
been  a  part  of  it.  It  almost  makes  me  melan- 


Marion  Karr,  one  of  the  five  remaining  veterans  of  the  Civil  War  now 
living  in  Concord  Township.  Co.  I,  113th  Illinois  Infantry.  Seventy-three 
years  old.  A  resident  of  Iroquois  seventy-three  years.  Continues  active 
in  business. 

/ 

choly  when  I  contrast  the  past  when,  full  of 
youthful  hope  and  vigor,  I  was  riding  over  the 
prairies  with  my  pill-bags  under  me,  visiting  the 
families  of  the  old  settlers  in  their  widely  scat- 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  43 

tered  cabins,  with  the  present  beautiful  and  cul- 
tivated county. 

When  I  was  practicing  medicine  here,  there 
was  one. solitary  cabin  where  Sheldon  now  stands, 
which  sets  itself  up  to  be  something  of  a  town, 
which  it  really  is.  I  used  to  ride  over  to  that  log 
cabin  in  which  Zadock  Parks  lived.  From  there 
I  used  to  ride  over  to  Sugar  Grove,  twelve  miles 
further,  and  there  was  no  house  between.  From 
here  to  Morocco,  Indiana,  some  twenty  miles 
away,  was  a  common  ride  for  me.  In  my  short 
experience  I  have  seen  nearly  this  whole  county 
improved.  We  live  in  a  wonderful  country  and 
hardly  seem  to  realize  it.  We  do  not  stop  to  think 
or  reflect  about  it- -what  will  it  be  in  fifty  years 
from  now,  when  we  shall  be  dust  and  forgotten 
except  by  our  own  immediate  descendants.  What 
a  grand  garden  this  country  will  be,  splendid 
churches  and  school  houses  will  thickly  dot  the 
plain,  and  groves  of  timber  will  be  more  numerous 
than  when  these  old  gentlemen  came  to  settle  here. 

A  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  or  a  little  more, 
you  know,  we  had  no  railroads  and  we  went  mar- 
keting to  Chicago  with  wagons.  Why,  when  I 
first  saw  Chicago  it  had  but  one  railroad,  and  that 
came  in  from  Galena.  But  I  ought  not  to  ven- 
ture too  much  on  my  own  experience,  These  old 


44  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

gentlemen  smile  when  I  talk  of  my  personal  ex- 
perience to  them.  I  am  almost  afraid  to  relate 
anecdotes  that  I  have  heard  from  the  lips  of  early 
veterans,  lest  I  may  get  them  wrong  and  they 
may  get  up  here  and  contradict  me.  If,  however, 
they  will  promise  to  stand  by  me  I  will  venture  on 
one  or  two.  One  comes  to  my  mind  as  told  to  me 
by  an  old  pioneer  whom  I  early  learned  to  esteem. 
I  refer  to  old  Benjamin  Fry,  who  to  us  is  dead, 
and  who  is  now  no  doubt  dwelling  in  the  happy 
land  beyond  the  stars.  When  I  first  came  to 
Bunkum- -we  are  getting  too  stuck  up  to  call  it 
Bunkum  any  more- -I  became  acquainted  with 
him  and  he  used  to  entertain  me  with  his  early 
experiences.  Among  other  things  he  told  me  that 
he  once  worked  for  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard  some 
six  months,  and  when  he  got  through  with  the 
work  Mr.  Hubbard  offered  him  a  horse  or  two 
lots  on  Lake  street  in  Chicago  for  his  pay,  and 
he  took  the  horse. 

I  shall  venture  to  tell  a  story  connected  with  the 
early  life  of  Mr.  Stanley,  although  he  is  here 
among  us.  Mr.  Stanley  came  to  this  county  the 
same  year  in  which  I  was  born,  1830.  A  good 
while  ago  I  learned  to  treat  him  with  the  respect 
to  which  respectable  old  age  is  entitled.  It  is 
interesting  to  hear  him  relate  the  adventures  of 


THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  45 

the  many  years  he  has  lived  in  this  county.  He 
is  now  mayor  of  the  village  where  he  and  I  reside, 
and  which  we,  taking  on  airs,  call  a  city.  Many 
years  ago  he  was  sheriff  of  the  county  and  once 
represented  it  in  the  legislature.  Many,  many 
years  ago  he  was  sent  by  his  employer  to  Chicago 
to  get  a  load  of  salt,  and  when  he  got  there  they 
didn't  have  any.  (Here  Mr.  Stanley  explained 
that  he  was  sent  by  Mr.  Hubbard  to  Chicago  to 
buy  a  wagon  load  of  groceries,  "and  when  I  got 
there  I  had  to  wait  three  weeks  for  the  schooner 
to  come  in  with  them.  Meanwhile  I  put  in  my 
time  hauling  material  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
structing old  Fort  Dearborn.") 

Judge  Blades :  Just  think  of  it,  my  fellow  citi- 
zens, a  man  sitting  on  this  platform  today  with  us 
who,  after  he  had  reached  manhood,  went  to  this 
great  city  of  Chicago  for  goods  and  groceries  with 
a  wagon  and  was  obliged  to  wait  three  weeks  for 
the  arrival  of  a  schooner  before  he  could  get  them. 
What  a  miracle  of  change  since  1831- -since  the 
days,  as  the  man  said  in  the  lyceum,  that  the 
"aborigines"  were  here.  Chicago  is  now  the  pride 
of  the  continent  and  the  wonder  of  the  world. 

And  there  are  other  old  men  here  today  who 
have  had  as  varied  and  interesting  experiences  as 
my  old  friend  Mr.  Stanley.  I  was  speaking  the 


46  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

X 

other  day  to  Uncle  John  Fry  in  a  bragging  sort 
of  way  about  my  being  an  old  settler,  but  he  soon 
took  the  conceit  out  of  me  by  informing  me  that 
he  had  been  in  the  county  forty-five  years;  that 
was  when  I  was  a  little  urchin  running  barefoot 
and  having  the  toe-itch  over  in  the  beech  woods 
of  Indiana.  He  was  a  man  grown  when  we  came 
here — I  don't  know  but  he  was  a  married  man. 
( Mr.  Fry :  I  was  married  and  had  a  wife  and  four 
children.)  Judge:  A  married  man  and  a  large 
family  when  he  first  saw  this  county  forty-five 
years  ago. 

Some  of  you  may  say — and  perhaps  do  say- 
if  I  had  only  gone  further  west  when  I  located  in 
Iroquois  county,  I  might  have  been  better  off. 
But  there  was  no  further  west  in  those  days-  -this 
was  The  West.  Then  the  states  and  territories  of 
what  we  now  call  the  west  hardly  existed,  even 
in  name.  Where  were  Kansas,  Nebraska,  Cali- 
fornia then?  The  very  names  of  some  of  them 
were  unknown  then.  When  I  first  began  to  study 
geography  at  school,  I  don't  believe  Oregon  was 
on  the  map.  Now  the  great  and  mighty  west  ex- 
tends away  to  the  Pacific.  Now  we  have  Oregon, 
California  and  Wyoming,  and  Washington,  and 
Nebraska,  and  Kansas.  Yes,  and  there  is  Utah. 
You  have  no  reason  to  reproach  yourselves  for 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  47 

having  located  here,  for  we  have  a  grand  good 
country.  Most  of  you  are  well-to-do  and  many 
of  you  have  greatly  prospered.  You  have  formed 
family  ties  and  social  attachments  that  are  too 
strong  for  you  to  think  of  going  away  to  the  west 
and  becoming  pioneers  again.  Many  of  you  may 
see  your  children  go  away  to  make  new  homes  in 
the  west.  But  to  be  a  pioneer  now  is  not  what 
it  was  when  you  came  to  this  country.  They  will 
never  know  the  privations  and  hardships  which 
were  incident  to  the  early  days  of  this  country. 
When  people  go  west  now  they  find  as  intelligent 
and  cultivated  a  people  as  dwell  in  this  part  of 
the  country.  It  is  a  common  thing  now  for  the 
people  to  take  with  them  many  of  the  elegancies 
and  luxuries  which  they  have  here  and  scarcely 
any  undergo  the  vicissitudes  which  their  fathers 
did  in  establishing  themselves  here.  When 
people  go  west  now  they  find  themselves  sur- 
rounded by  the  sanle  kind  of  people  they  left 
behind  them- -the  same  kind  of  people  we  have 
here  in  Iroquois  county. 

We,  who  have  passed  the  prime  of  manhood  in 
this  county,  will  probably  rest  our  bones  beneath 
its  soil,  but  I  trust  we  shall  see  much  greater  pros- 
perity of  our  people  ere  we  go  to  our  final  abode. 


48  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

Pioneer  Story  by  Micajah  Stanley 

The  Hon.  Micajah  Stanley  of  Watseka  was 
one  of  the  first  settlers.  He  came  to  the  county 
as  early  as  1830  and  was  closely  associated  with 
the  early  history  of  Montgomery  and  Concord. 
He  served  in  the  legislature  of  this  $tate,  was 
mayor  of  Watseka  at  one  time,  and  helped  to 
build  Fort  Dearborn  at  Chicago.  His  own  story 
of  his  early  experience  and  hardship  in  the  new 
country  is  thrilling  and  instructive.  He  said: 

Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen :  I  came 
here  in  1830  from  Clinton  county,  Ohio.  We 
arrived  in  the  fall.  In  September  we  came  to 
the  Wabash  and  stopped  three  weeks  on  the 
Wee-Haw  Prairie.  We  found  that  country 
almost  without  inhabitants.  There  were  some 
Indians  and  six  or  eight  families  of  settlers.  The 
same  fall  we  left  there  and  settled  near  Milford, 
then  Vermilion  county.  We  found  here  Samuel 
Rush,  Robert  Hill,  Daniel  Barbee,  Jefferson 
Mounts,  Hiram  Miles  and  his  father,  and  Joseph 
Cox.  I  came  with  my  father's  party,  which  con- 
sisted of  my  mother,  Hannah  Stanley ;  my  oldest 
brother,  Wm.  Stanle}^,  and  his  wife  Judith;  my 
second  brother,  John  Stanley,  and  his  wife 
Agnes ;  my  youngest  brother,  Isaac,  and  two  sis- 
ters, Rebecca  and  Elizabeth.  With  us  came  from 


THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY"  49 

Wee-Haw,  Wm.  Pickerel,  an  old  Quaker,  who 
was  the  founder  of  Milford,  having  laid  out  the 
town.  Pickerel  was  a  remarkable  man ;  he  was  a 
blacksmith,  a  miller,  a  farmer,  jack  of  all  trades 
and  master  of  all  arts ;  as  honest  and  industrious 
as  the  day  is  long. 

That  winter  we  witnessed  the  hardest  time  I 
ever  experienced  in  my  life,  being  destitute  of 
almost  everything.  We  came  with  eight  head  of 
horses,  fifteen  head  of  cattle  and  a  flock  of  sheep, 
and  we  expected  to  get  hay  of  the  people  that  were 
there,  but  the  fire  had  destroyed  it  all.  We  had 
to  haul  our  corn  from  the  Wabash.  We  hauled 
what  we  expected  would  do  us.  In  December  a 
snow  fell  ten  inches  deep,  which  was  increased 
through  the  winter  until  it  was  eighteen  inches 
deep  on  the  level;  then  there  came  a  rain  and 
formed  a  crust  on  that.  The  crust  was  so  thick 
that  a  dog  could  run  anywhere  over  it.  The  snow 
in  places  was  drifted  until  it  was  six  or  seven 
feet  deep.  That  fall  we  had  plenty  of  wild  tur- 
keys, but  the  winter  was  so  severe  that  they  all 
froze.  We  had  plenty  of  deer.  The  dogs  and 
wolves  killed  many  of  them,  and  we  could  find 
many  deer's  carcasses  afterwards.  The  deer  were 
not  all  killed  and  we  soon  had  plenty  of  them 
again,  but  we  had  no  more  wild  turkeys  after  that. 


50  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

In  1831  we  had  a  pretty  hard  time  raising  a 
crop.  With  the  heavy  rains  our  streams  were 
filled  up  very  high.  In  the  spring  we  began  farm- 
ing; we  began  to  plow. and  break  prairie,  and 
we  put  in  ten  acres  that  had  been  under  cultiva- 
tion the  year  before. 

In  the  fall  of  1830,  as  I  said  to  Judge  Blades, 
Mr.  Hubbard  was  living  here  at  Bunkum,  and 
had  his  trading  house  where  Benjamin  Fry  lived. 
He  moved  that  year  to  Danville  and  opened  a 
store.  He  employed  me  and  some  other  men  to 
go  to  Chicago  for  goods ;  he  engaged  four  teams. 
I  took  five  yoke  of  oxen.  We  went  a  little  too 
soon,  and  I  had  to  stay  there  three  weeks  before 
the  boat  came  in  with  the  goods.  At  that  time 
there  was  not  a  white  family  living  between  here 
and  Chicago.  We  stayed  all  night  at  Hubbard's 
trading-house  and  the  next  morning  we  started 
for  Chicago.  We  crossed  the  Kankakee  river 
above  Momence,  where  Robert  Hill  formerly 
kept  hotel.  The  river  was  bank  full,  and  we  had 
to  ride  on  the  middle  cattle  and  drive  the  head 
ones.  The  water  ran  into  our  wagon  boxes. 
When  we  finally  reached  Chicago  we  found  no 
goods  there,  so  we  had  to  stay  three  weeks  before 
the  schooner  came  in.  Inside  of  old  Fort  Dear- 
born there  were  two  or  three  persons  doing  busi- 


"THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  51 

i 

ness.  Mr.  Dole  was  there,  and  another  gentle- 
man was  keeping  boarding  house.  Mark  Beau- 
bien  was  up  the  river  in  a  little  one-story  house, 
keeping  tavern.  Mr.  Kinzie  was  up  in  the  forks 
of  the  river,  and  one  of  the  Merricks  lived  at  the 
old  Merrick  stand,  near  the  present  Douglas  mon- 
ument. There  was  a  little  dry  land  along  the 
beach,  and  I  do  not  blame  Benjamin  Fry  for 
taking  the  horse  instead  of  the  land  that  was 
offered  him. 

We  left  Chicago,  and  in  three  days  we  got  to 
the  Calumet  river.  Sometimes  we  had  to  hitch 
ten  yoke  of  oxen  to  one  wagon  to  haul  it  through 
the  quicksand.  We  were  between  three  and  four 
weeks  getting  home.  We  ran  out  of  provisions 
on  our  way  back  and  Henry  Hubbard  met  us  at 
Beaver  creek  with  a  basket  full  of  provisions. 
When  we  got  home  we  rested  about  three  weeks, 
then  took  the  goods  on  to  Danville.  This  is  my 
experience  on  that  trip. 

After  that  the  country  began  to  settle  up  a 
little  more.  After  the  Black  Hawk  war  there 
were  two  settlements  made.  My  father-in-law, 
John  Moore,  settled  four  miles  southeast  of  Wat- 
seka,  where  some  of  the  family  still  live.  About 
that  time  a  report  came  to  our  settlement,  in  the 
evening  by  the  mail  carrier  who  carried  the  mail 


52  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

from  Danville  to  Chicago  on  horseback,  that  the 
Indians  had  followed  him  until  he  got  to  the  Iro- 
quois  river.  He  was  all  dirty  and  his  horse  was 
all  dirty,  and  he  was  afraid  to  take  his  supper  at 
the  hotel.  Some  men  who  went  out  to  Hickory 
creek  to  look  at  the  country  also  came  riding  in, 
saying  that  the  Indians  had  been  following  them 
all  day  and  were  close  upon  them.  My  mother 
was  in  the  house  and  the  rest  of  us  were  in  the 
field  planting  corn.  We  thought  it  all  a  farce. 
The  rest  of  them  went  away,  but  I  stayed  until 
dark,  and  when  I  went  through  the  settlement, 
they  were  all  gone  except  George  Hinshaw,  an 
old  bachelor  who  was  living  there.  I  found  him, 
and  when  we  went  through  that  settlement  we 
found  the  calves  shut  up  in  rail  pens,  and  we  tore 
the  pens  down  and  let  them  out — such  had  been 
their  haste,  they  left  them  in  that  condition.  The 
next  day  we  went  to  Parish's  Grove,  and  I  said  to 
Hinshaw,  "We  had  better  go  back.  If  the  In- 
dians had  been  so  near  they  would  have  been  here 
before  this  time."  The  greater  part  of  the  settlers 
stayed  down  on  the  Wabash  until  fall,  so  we 
almost  lost  that  crop.  This  was  in  1832. 

• 

In  1833,  I  think  it  was,  we  held  an  election 
for  justice  of  the  peace  in  Vermilion  territory. 
There  were  two  precincts-  -Milf  ord  and  Bunkum. 


'THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  53 

We  were  entitled  to  two  justices,  but  we  did  not 
know  this.  We  thought  that  both  precincts  were 
entitled  to  but  one.  Bob  Hill  and  Ike  Court- 
right  were  the  candidates.  There  was  a  spirited 
contest  between  the  two.  Hill  represented  the 
Milford  settlement  and  Courtright  the  Bunkum 
settlement.  Each  wanted  the  justice  in  his  own 
precinct,  but  the  election  was  held  at  Bunkum 
and  this  gave  Courtright  the  advantage,  and  he 
beat  Hill  two  or  three  votes.  Courtright  went 
to  Danville  and  received  his  commission  and  exe- 
cuted all  the  legal  business  for  the  whole  of  this 
county.  But  two  years  afterwards  Hill  was 
elected,  and  he  went  to  Danville  after  his  com- 
mission, and,  lo  and  behold,  he  was  presented  with 
one  two  years  old,  which  he  might  have  had  when 
Courtright  got  his,  as  we  were  entitled  to  two 
justices  all  the  time.  I  was  not  twenty-one  when 
I  came  here,  but  became  of  age  the  following 
February,  so  I  was  entitled  to  a  vote,  and  that 
was  the  first  time  I  ever  voted  in  my  life.  Mr. 
Courtright  made  a  very  prominent  justice  of  the 
peace.  Mr.  Hill  also  was  a  very  prominent  man. 
We  had  no  need  of  justices  then,  only  to  take 
notice  of  the  estrays.  The  first  business  I  had 
was  to  take  a  notice  of  a  steer,  and  I  had  Mr. 


54  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

Singleton  come  up  as  a  witness  to  the  marks  on 
that  brute. 

When  the  stranger  came  to  our  county  then,  we 
met  him  as  we  do  today,  with  open  arms  and  a 
hearty  shake  of  the  hand.  Then  we  would  go 
eight  or  ten  miles  to  help  build  a  cabin.  And  you, 
my  old  friends,  who  are  here  today  still  have  the 
same  feeling  that  you  had  in  the  early  days  of  the 
settlement.  When  a  man  came  into  the  county, 
and  we  found  he  wanted  to  be  a  citizen  we  turned 
out  to  help  him  build  his  cabin,  because  they  were 
honest  and  true  men,  almost  all  of  them.  There 
were  but  very  few  men  who  partook  of  the  intoxi- 
cating cup  to  excess.  In  1835  I  moved  to  the 
place  where  I  now  live.  I  located  three  miles 
from  any  other  house.  There  were  plenty  of 
Indians,  and  they  were  as  honest  as  any  men  I 
ever  lived  among.  They  would  not  suffer  their 
dogs  to  kill  a  pig  or  a  sheep,  and  if  they  did  kill 
any,  they  would  hunt  the  man  up  and  pay  him 
for  it.  That  is  not  the  habit  of  men  today.  I  used 
to  leave  everything  out  where  I  worked  and  never 
lost  anything. 

I  settled  in  Watseka  in  March,  1835,  where 
my  house  is  now,  and  I  made  a  farm  there.  My 
friends  came  around  me  occasionally,  and  I  used 
to  spend  from  a  day  to  a  week  showing  them  the 


'THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  55 

county.  They  would  come  there  and  tell  me  they 
wanted  to  buy  land  to  make  a  home,  but  not  many 
of  them  ever  came  back.  Mr.  Beckwith  was  our 
surveyor,  and  a  very  fine  man.  The  land  was 
surveyed  and  we  could  find  any  of  the  corners  we 
wanted,  and  locate  a  man  anywhere.  That  was 
the  situation  of  our  county  up  to  1835.  I  have 
occupied  your  time  longer  than  I  expected.  I 
thank  you  and  will  give  way  to  someone  else,  who 
can  tell  you  the  rest  from  that  time  to  this. 

Pioneer  Story  by  Thomas  Barker 

Thomas  Barker  was  among  the  first  pioneers, 
coming  west  in  1831  and  locating  on  a  piece  of 
land  on  the  east  side  of  the  township  in  Newton 
county.  He  was  nearly  eighty  years  of  age  when 
he  attended  the  Old  Settlers'  Reunion  and  deliv- 
ered the  address  which  follows.  His  narrative 
reveals  the  sunshine  of  a  contented  and  happy 
life  amid  the  privation  and  hardship  which  he  ex- 
perienced. His  glowing  descriptions  present  a 
pleasing  picture  of  the  new  country  and  illustrate 
the  value  of  looking  upon  the  bright  side.  He 
said: 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  It  is  now  forty-eight 
years  since  I  came  into  these  grand  prairies,  and 


56  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

it  seems  but  a  short  time  ago.  A  great  many 
changes  have  taken  place  since  then.  You  may 
think  it  strange,  but  I  am  nearly  four  score  years 
old.  And  if  you  had  seen  this  country  in  its 
beauty,  as  I  have,  you  would  have  called  it  most 
beautiful,  with  its  undulating  prairies  and  its  nat- 
ural groves.  As  I  rode  out  on  my  wagon,  for  we 
had  no  buggies  then,  I  thought  I  had  never  beheld 
a  country  so  attractive  to  the  eye.  It  was  cov- 
ered with  the  most  delightful  blossoms  as  far  as 
one  could  see ;  the  husbandman  had  not  disturbed 
them,  and  they  were  allowed  to  grow  in  their 
native  purity.  Everywhere  we  beheld  the  works 
of  God  in  nature.  You  could  travel  for  forty 
miles  in  any  direction  without  meeting  a  person 
or  finding  a  dwelling  house.  You  could  see  the 
deer  whipping  out  of  the  groves  and  the  red  men 
riding  over  the  prairies.  I  never  saw  an  Indian 
traveling  on  foot  in  this  country-  -he  was  always 
mounted  on  his  pony.  I  have  been  in  France 
and  in  Germany,  but  I  was  raised  in  England; 
but  I  have  never  seen  anything  in  those  countries 
that  equaled  the  beauty  of  this  western  prairie. 
It  is  true  there  were  bad  creeks  and  sloughs  and 
no  bridges,  but  we  did  not  need  many  bridges. 
The  people  living  along  the  Iroquois  were  cour- 
ageous and  did  not  fear  wading  streams  any  more 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  57 

than  did  Long  John  when  he  pulled  his  horse  out 
of  Sugar  creek. 

I  never  hauled  my  grain  to  Chicago;  I  could 
do  better  with  it  at  home.  I  have  seen  men  forty 
and  fjfty  miles  below  here  hauling  flour  and  pork 
to  Chicago,  and  when  they  got  stuck  in  the  Beaver 
sloughs  they  would  manage  to  pull  out  again;  it 
seemed  to  make  no  difference  to  them.  They  were 
energetic  men  who  immigrated  to  this  country 
and  they  were  able  to  meet  conditions.  I  do  not 
know  of  a  man — no,  not  one- -that  came  to  this 
country  in  that  day  and  used  any  kind  of  industry, 
but  made  a  good  living,  a  good  farm  and  had 
plenty.  This  proved  that  the  land  had  something 
more  to  offer  than  flowers.  There  was  something 
in  the  soil  that  a  man  could  see.  I  remember 
when  the  first  settlers  came  up  from  the  Wabash, 
there  was  not  a  human  being  nor  a  house  to  be 
seen  on  these  prairies.  Just  think  what  a  change 
in  so  short  a  time. 

I  am  here  today  as  fresh  as  I  ever  was  in  my 
life.  I  have  never  had  an  ache  nor  a  pain  in  my 
life,  and  I  have  lived  to  be  this  old  in  this  country 
without  them.  I  was  married  when  I  was  young 
and  when  I  came  here  I  thought  I  had  found  the 
prettiest  country  I  had  ever  seen,  and  I  thought 
I  had  brought  with  me  the  prettiest  woman  I 


5*8  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

ever  knew.  I  was  happy  Tom  then  and  I  have 
been  happy  Tom  ever  since. 

We  had  plenty  of  venison  and  fish,  and  most 
of  the  time  plenty  of  pork  and  beef.  We  had  a 
good  soil  and  all  we  had  to  do  was  to  work  it.  I 
thought  this  country  was  the  garden  spot  of  the 
world,  and  I  still  think  so. 

We  had  plenty  of  Indians  as  neighbors,  ten  to 
one  white  neighbor.  I  never  saw  an  Indian  who 
tried  to  disturb  anything.  If  he  wanted  a  favor 
he  would  come  and  ask  for  it  humbly  and  he  never 
came  to  my  house  in  vain.  I  never  lived  by  better 
neighbors. 

There  are  a  great  many  old  settlers  here  who 
had  to  plow  for  a  number  of  years  with  wooden 
plows.  The  first  iron  plow  I  ever  saw  in  this 
county  was  Peacock's,  made  in  Cincinnati  and 
brought  to  the  Wabash.  Soon  after  they  began 
to  come  into  the  county  fast. 

We  did  not  have  the  facilities  for  an  educa- 
tion then  that  we  now  have.  The  old  pioneers 
came  together  and  cut  logs  and  built  a  school 
house,  and  each  of  us  subscribed  so  much  a  scholar, 
and  in  that  way  we  educated  our  children.  Then 
we  had  but  few  wants  and  very  little  money. 

When  I  lived  up  at  Pilot  Grove  there  were  a 
few  of  us  scattered  around  there,  and  we  would 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  59 

see  each  other  during  the  week,  and  one  would 
say,  'Tom,  don't  you  want  to  go  to  Bunkum 
Saturday?"  And  then  somebody  would  pass  the 
word  around,  and  we  would  take  a  team  and  all 
come  to  Bunkum.  It  looked  like  a  good  ways 
to  come  to  a  store,  but  it  was  not  half  as  far  then 
as  it  is  now.  God  bless  Charley  Sherman,  the 
store  keeper.  Our  purses  were  light,  but  we 
could  always  get  our  money's  worth  here  in 
Bunkum. 

We  had  no  churches,  but  contrived  means  to 
have  the  word  of  God  preached.  Although  I  did 
not  belong  to  church,  I  took  as  much  interest  as 
any  of  them.  I  had  a  Methodist  wife.  We  would 
see  some  preacher,  and  then  give  out  an  appoint- 
ment. We  had  preaching  in  our  private  houses, 
and  it  did  us  and  our  children  as  much  good  as  if 
we  had  had  a  ten  thousand  dollar  church.  We 
had  as  fine  a  preacher  as  ever  was.  He  lived  up 
by  the  North  Timber  and  his  name  was  Waters. 
After  his  sermon  he  would  give  out  his  appoint- 
ment for  the  next  time  at  some  one  of  the  houses. 
He  would  say,  "I  am  going  to  preach  next  Sab- 
bath, if  it  is  not  a  good  coon  day."  Now,  you 
may  think  he  was  a  coon-hunter ;  that  was  not  the 
case,  but  he  knew  if  it  was  a  good  coon  day  his 
congregation  would  be  tolerably  slim.  As  I  told 


60  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

you,  my  wife  was  a  Methodist,  and  when  we  had 
what  we  called  a  big  meeting  I  would  generally 
invite  the  preacher  home  with  me.  Once  there 
were  two  of  them  at  our  house,  and  one  of  them 
called  me  "Brother  Barker."  I  said,  '  'Brother- 
in-law,'  if  you  please."  I  was  an  admirer  of  their 
sister,  but  was  not  their  brother. 

There  was  a  friendship  existing  among  these 
old  settlers.  I  never  had  a  bad  neighbor  that  I 
know  of.  Before  I  moved  out  here  with  my 
family,  I  came  alone  and  raised  a  crop.  I  brought 
two  or  three  barrels  of  flour;  I  had  some  two  or 
three  hundred  bushels  of  corn  here,  and  had  built 
me  a  house,  but  had  not  cut  out  any  door.  That 
flour  and  corn  and  everything  stayed  there  all 
winter  while  I  was  away  without  being  disturbed. 
These  were  the  sort  of  people  who  made  the  first 
settlement  along  the  Iroquois,  and  were  they  not 
the  right  kind  to  start  the  settling  of  a  new  coun- 
try? I  ask  how  long  would  three  or  four  barrels 
of  flour  stay  in  a  house  now  all  winter  and  be  left 
alone  as  this  was  ?  I  want  to  show  you  the  golden 
color  of  those  who  lived  and  died  by  me,  and  have 
now  passed  away. 

When  I  look  back  over  the  past  thirty-five 
years,  and  think  of  the  acquaintances  I  had  up 
and  down  this  river,  who  have  passed  away,  it 


'THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  61 

makes  me  feel  sad.  I  could  tell  you  all  about 
them,  for  I  have  a  good  memory,  and  I  could 
name  all  the  families  that  have  settled  on  this 
river.  They  were  all  good  people.  Some  of  them 
fell  in  the  morning,  some  fell  at  noon  and  others 
fell  later  in  the  day.  There  are  those  here  today 
who  remember,  when  they  settled  on  the  river, 
how  thick  those  mammoth  trees  were ;  the  poplar, 
oak,  walnut,  were  growing  in  the  thickest  clus- 
ters, but  they  too  have  passed  away.  The  hus- 
bandman's ax  has  felled  a  great  many  of  them, 
and  some  of  them  have  died,  but  there  is  a  younger 
growth  coming  up  to  take  their  places.  So  with 
the  human  family,  our  grand-fathers  and  fathers 
are  passing  away,  but  there  is  a  younger  growth 
coming  to  take  their  places,  that  looks  as  beauti- 
ful to  me  as  did  this  country  when  I  first  saw  it. 

Pioneer  Story  by  Hiram  Vennum 

Hiram  Vennum,  a  prominent  citizen  of  the 
county  and  one  of  the  first  settlers,  related  the 
story  of  his  early  experience,  which  was  one  of 
real  hardship.  He  said : 

My  friends,  when  I  see  so  many  old  and  fa- 
miliar faces  around  me  whom  I  am  so  glad  to 
see,  it  really  makes  me  feel  young.  I  left  Penn- 
sylvania in  September,  1834,  for  Illinois.  I  was 


62  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

run  down  in.  health  and  was  told  that  I  could  not 
stand  to  travel  one  day.  At  night  I  went  to  bed 
and  in  the  morning  I  was  better.  I  gained  in 
health  every  day  from  that  time  until  I  arrived 
here,  about  one  month  later. 

It  was  a  new  country  then.  We  could  not  get 
feed  even  for  our  horses.  We  had  to  haul  all  our 
feed  and  our  food  stuff  from  the  Wabash.  The 
next  year  after  we  came  we  were  taken  sick.  I 
will  say  this  for  the  young  folks,  to  show  them 
what  we  had  to  endure  when  we  first  came.  Ten 
of  us  lived  in  a  log  cabin  fourteen  feet  square, 
and  I  have  seen  all  of  them  down  on  the  floor  sick 
at  one  time.  We  thought  that  disagreeable  times 
then — it  made  me  think  of  old  Pennsylvania. 
The  reason  we  stayed  here  was  because  we  could 
not  get  away,  and  you  need  not  thank  us  for  stay- 
ing. The  next  year  we  did  not  have  a  cent  of 
money,  and  then  the  crash  of  1837  coming  on  left 
us  with  nothing.  I  made  the  farm  I  now  live  on 
with  my  own  hands,  and  I  am  there  yet  because 
I  could  not  get  anybody  to  buy  it.  I  ask  my 
young  friends  how  they  would  like  to  live  in  a 
log  cabin  only  fourteen  feet  square.  You  think 
you  could  not  do  it ;  but  you  could  stand  it,  for  it 
has  been  done.  You  know  nothing  about  hard 
times.  Then  we  did  not  see  five  dollars  in  money 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  63 

once  a  year.  I  hauled  pork  to  Chicago  and  sold 
it  for  one  dollar  a  hundred  and  thanked  the  man 
for  buying  it.  When  you  think  of  what  we  had 
to  go  through,  you  need  not  fear  but  you  can 
make  a  living  now.  There  was  no  such  thing  as 
hiring  a  hand- -we  had  to  do  our  own  work  our- 
selves. We  used  to  drive  a  good  many  hogs  to 
Chicago.  I  have  waded  the  Kankakee  river,  some 
five  or  six  times,  when  the  slush  and  ice  were  run- 
ning. I  have  crossed  those  sloughs  until  ten 
o'clock  in  the  night  before  I  stopped.  You  may 
think  you  could  not  do  that,  but  you  could  if  you 

t 

had  to. 

Pioneer  Story  by  Judge  S.  R.  Moore 
Judge  S.  R.  Moore,  many  years  a  prominent 
lawyer  of  Kankakee  and  an  early  settler,  is  still 
active.    No  mail  has  a  wider  acquaintance  in  both 
counties  than  the  judge.    He  said: 

I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  addressing  a  great 
many  audiences  in  my  life  time,  but  none  so  large 
as  this.  I  have  the  pleasure  to  speak  on  this  occa- 
sion for  Mr.  Vasseur,  who  made  a  permanent 
home  in  Iroquois  and  Kankakee  counties  since 
1822  to  the  present  time.  He  has  never  worn 
glasses  and  has  never  had  ill  health.  He  came 
here  in  1822  to  make  a  home  in  this  beautiful 


64,  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

prairie  country.  He  was  in  the  employ  of  the 
North-western  Fur  Co.  for  eleven  years,  and 
made  his  home  in  the  ancient  and  venerable  town 
of  Bunkum.  In  1832  he  came  and  settled  in 
Bourbonnais  Grove.  Mr.  Vasseur  desires  me  to 
thank  you  for  your  kindness  and  to  say  God  bless 
you,  that  you  may  live  long  and  enjoy  the  benefits 
of  this  beautiful  county. 

I  think  about  1844  or  '45  I  became  familiar 
with  the  name  of  Bunkum;  I  don't  know  how  to 
spell  it.  I  was  acquainted  with  the  meaning  of 
buncombe  in  general  and  buncombe  in  law,  but 
I  never  knew  the  meaning  of  Bunkum  in  Illinois. 

My  father  came  to  Cincinnati  in  1794.  He  left 
Ireland  four  years  before  that.  He  made  his 
way  to  Pittsburgh;  there  they  made  a  small  raft 
and  floated  down  to  Cincinnati,  and  there  was 
but  one  white  man  in  all  that  country  at  that 
time.  Daniel  Boone  was  then  in  Kentucky.  At 
that  time  matches  were  unknown — that  is  the 
Lucifer  matches;  some  love  matches  were  made 
in  Kankakee.  Mowing  machines  and  threshing 
machines  were  unknown,  and  when  they  came, 
people  thought  they  would  be  deprived  of  their 
labor  and  they  could  not  live.  When  they  were 
going  to  build  steam  cars  and  do  away  with  the 
stage  coach,  there  would  be  no  employment  left. 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  65 

Cutting  grain  with  the  sickle  and  plowing  with 
the  wooden  plow-  -what  a  wonderful  transforma- 
tion there  has  been. 

Mr.  Messer  will  tell  you  what  Iroquois  county 
was  from  1830  up  to  1879- -from  nothing  to  twen- 
ty-five million  dollars.  Such  is  the  history  of 
every  county  in  northern  Illinois.  He  will  tell 
you  that  two  hundred  years  ago  a  trader  came 
down  the  Kankakee  river,  and  then  came  up  the 
Iroquois  river  to  where  now  stands  the  ancient 
town  of  Middleport.  If  you  will  go  to  the  Kan- 
kakee river  you  will  find  what  is  called  Grape 
Island  there,  and  you  will  find  a  quality  of  grapes 
that  cannot  be  found  anywhere  else  on  the  Ameri- 
can continent.  They  sprang  undoubtedly  from 
seeds  dropped  there  over  two  hundred  years  ago, 
and  took  root  and  grew,  and  hundreds  of  people 
go  there  and  gather  grapes  in  the  proper  season. 

The  Story  by  Moses  H.  Messer 

The  story  of  the  Indian  trails  of  the  county 

was  perhaps  never  better  told,  and  certainly  by 

no  better  authority  than  Moses  H.  Messer,  a 

surveyor,  and  an  early  settler.    Mr.  Messer  said : 

Were  I  called  upon  to  write  the  history  of 

Iroquois  county  I  would  divide  it  into  three  parts. 

The  first  division  would  commence  with  the  first 


66  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

permanent  settlement  of  the  white  man,  dating 
back  to  1829.  The  second  would  commence  with 
the  introduction  of  the  first  railroad ;  this  I  would 
bring  up  to  date.  The  third  period  would  begin 
with  1829  and  go  back  two  hundred  years. 

There  were  three  separate  and  distinct  places 
of  early  settlement.  The  first  was  at  this  place 
in  1829,  the  second  was  at  Milford  a  year  later; 
the  third  settlement  was  on  Spring  creek,  in  the 
west  part  of  the  county,  two  or  three  years  later. 
I  propose  to  go  back  to  the  time  when  Gurdon  S. 
Hubbard  located  in  this  county,  the  winter  of 
1821-22.  He  found  no  white  men  here.  He 
came  in  a  boat  from  Mackinac  to  Chicago,  boated 
up  the  Chicago  river  and  crossed  the  portage  to 
the  Desplaines,  down  the  Desplaines  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Kankakee,  then  up  the  Kankakee  to  the 
Iroquois,  and  then  he  followed  this  river  up  to 
what  is  now  called  Old  Middleport.  There  he 
made  his  first  location,  and  built  him  a  house  and 
a  fur  press.  Mr.  Hubbard  stated  to  parties  that 
he  located  there  by  order  of  the  North  American 
Fur  Company,  and  when  his  contract  with  them 
expired  he  saw  fit  to  move  to  this  place  (Iro- 
quois). A  quarter  of  a  mile  north  of  here  can 
be  pointed  out  the  location  of  his  cabin ;  a  quarter 


THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  67 

of  a  mile  east  of  it  was  the  location  of  his  trading 
post. 

I  shall  now  describe  as  well  as  I  can  the  Indian 
trails  that  then  existed  in  this  county.  It  is  not 
certain  that  their  location  at  some  points  is  fully 
determined,  but  I  shall  give  them  the  best  I  can. 
There  was  a  trail  commencing  at  Mr.  Hubbard's 
trading  post  here,  leading  down  the  north  side  of 
the  river  along  the  timber  to  the  mouth  of  Sugar 
creek,  where  it  crossed  the  Iroquois.  At  that 
point  there  were  two  trails.  One  led  southwest 
past  Jefferson's  point,  crossing  Spring  creek  it 
filed  along  the  timber  to  Onarga  (my  house  stands 
right  on  that  trail),  to  Kickapoo  Grove,  now 
Oliver's  Grove.  The  other  branch  went  down 
west  and  south  to  the  farm  owned  by  Benjamin 
F.  Masters ;  crossed  Sugar  creek,  and  from  there 
it  led  away  down  across  the  prairie  to  Danville. 
There  was  another  trail  which  started  from  Hub- 
bard's  place  heje  and  crossed  the  river  near  the 
Iroquois  bridge.  In  a  short  distance  it  divided 
into  three  branches ;  one  went  to  LaFayette,  one 
to  Milford,  and  the  third  to  the  mouth  of  Sugar 
creek.  There  was  a  crossing  at  the  old  town  of 
Texas.  There  was  a  trail  leading  from  here  north 
to  a  ford  on  the  upper  part  of  Beaver  creek,  in 
this  county.  This  ford  was  called  the  Shobear 


68  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

crossing.  Three  or  four  miles  from  the  trading 
post  a  branch  turned  northwest  and  crossed  the 
Kankakee  at  Aroma.  The  old  Buck-Horn  tav- 
ern was  on  this  trail.  An  Indian  trail  also  ex- 
tended from  the  mouth  of  Sugar  creek  down  the 
Iroquois  on  the  east  side.  From  the  best  infor- 
mation that  I  have  been  able  to  get,  these  were 
the  original  trails  the  Indians  had  here  in  1822. 

When  Mr.  Hubbard  came  it  was  convenient 
for  him  to  use  these  trails  for  communication. 
The  more  important  of  the  trails  from  Danville 
north  was  called  Hubbard's  trail  to  Chicago. 
There  was  another  trail  in  the  western  part  of 
the  county  which  was  not  made  by  the  Indians. 
It  was  called  Butter  field's.  It  came  from  Bick- 
nels  Point  to  Pigeon  Grove,  to  Del  Rey,  and 
struck  the  Iroquois  at  Plato,  and  then  to  the 
Kankakee  river,  below  that  city.  The  first  set- 
tlers on  Spring  creek  came  by  this  route. 

There  was  a  bit  of  Indian  war  in  this  county. 
In  1832  when  Black  Hawk  was  on  the  warpath, 
several  of  the  families  at  Bunkum  and  Milford 
went  to  the  Wabash  for  safety;  others  came  to 
Hubbard's,  where  there  were  several  hundred 
Pottawatomies  spending  the  summer.  These 
Indians  were  all  peaceable  and  friendly. 

The  house  of  John  Hoagland,  about  one-half 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY3  69 

mile  north  of  Jessie  Eastburns,  was  entered  by 
some  stray  Indians  of  Black  Hawk's  forces,  and 
some  slight  depredations  committed.  George 
Courtright  (who  is  now  living  in  Watseka)  and 
Henry  Enslin  discovered  it  and  hastening  to  the 
post  gave  the  alarm.  They  quickly  gathered  up 
a  force  of  about  twenty  Pottawatomies  and 
started  in  pursuit.  The  trail  was  struck  at  the 
ford  where  Texas  now  is,  and  was  followed  north- 
west to  the  neighborhood  of  Tom  Yates.  At  this 
point  the  fleeing  party  separated.  One  trail  was 
followed  to  the  mouth  of  Pike  Creek  and  across 
the  Iroquois.  Here  the  pursuers  camped  for  the 
night.  The  next  day  they  followed  up  the  river 
and  up  Spring  creek  and  camped  the  second  night 
in  an  Indian  sugar  camp  at  Del  Rey.  On  the 
following  day  they  struck  the  Indian  trail  from 
Sugar  creek  from  Jefferson's  Point  to  Oliver's 
Grove,  and  followed  it  back  to  their  homes. 

This  county  from  1822  to  1829  had  no  white 
people  in  it  except  Hubbard  and  one  or  two  in  his 
employ.  He  had  with  him  some  half  breed 
Frenchmen  and  some  Indians  he  used  as  laborers. 
As  an  agricultural  country  at  that  time  it  had  no 
value ;  there  was  not  a  tiller  of  the  soil  in  it.  What 
have  we  today?  We  have  one  hundred  and  forty 
miles  of  railroad ;  we  are  fastened  to  Indiana  on 


70  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

the  east  by  two  lines;  on  the  north  and  south  by 
two  lines  and  also  to  the  west.  We  have  one 
hundred  and  forty  miles  of  telegraph  lines,  upon 
which  can  be  sent  four  messages  at  one  time,  two 
each  way.  And  we  have  a  great  deal  besides.  We 
have  at  least  seventeen  hundred  miles  of  high- 
ways. We  have  also  two  hundred  school  houses, 
with  over  two  hundred  teachers  employed  from 
six  to  eight  months  in  the  year.  We  have  one 
Seminary  of  Learning  and  one  Conservatory  of 
Music  and  several  graded  schools  whose  impor- 
tance is  but  a  little  ways  removed  from  the  semi- 
nary. There  are  over  fifty  churches  and  places 
for  public  worship,  and  numerous  Sunday  schools 
each  Sabbath.  See  the  advancement  we  have 
made.  Compare  fifty  years  ago  with  the  present, 
commencing  with  a  value  at  nothing,  and  now 
we  have  a  value  in  property  of  twenty-five  mil- 
lions of  dollars,  which  is  a  very  conservative  esti- 
mate. See  what  Civilization  has  wrought  in  fifty 
years.  It  is  well  for  us  to  celebrate  our  anni- 
versaries; it  is  well  for  us  to  gather  as  we  are 
today  and  interchange  thoughts  and  talk  over 
these  affairs  and  have  a  general  good  time.  From 
the  present  time  to  the  first  settlement  in  1829, 
we  have  a  period  of  fifty  years,  and  this  is  the 
fiftieth  anniversary  that  we  are  here  to  celebrate. 


THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  71 

It  is  only  a  few  years  ago  since  the  United  States 
had  an  anniversary,  the  Centennial.  Now  I  want 
to  see  if  we  can  not  have  this  a  double  Centennial 
for  "Old  Iroquois." 

The  first  ship  that  ever  plowed  the  waters  of 
the  Great  Lakes  was  the  Griffin,  built  by  La 
Salle,  a  few  miles  above  Niagara  Falls,  in  1679. 

On  the  27th  day  of  August  this  sixty-ton  ship 
reached  the  Mission  Station  at  Mackinac.  After 
a  short  stay,  sails  were  again  spread  and  Green 
Bay  soon  was  reached.  A  cargo  of  furs  was  se- 
cured and  the  Griffin  set  out  for  Niagara  Falls- 
Seventeen  men  remained  with  La  Salle.  On  the 
19th  of  September,  with  four  heavily  laden  canoes, 
they  left  the  mouth  of  the  bay  and  turned  south 
along  the  shore  of  the  lake,  which  was  followed 
to  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Joseph  river  in  Michigan, 
where  he  stopped  thirty-three  days,  waiting  for 
Lieutenant  Tonti,  who  had  been  left  at  Mackinac 
and  was  to  meet  his  comrades  at  this  place.  At 
last  he  came  with  a  number  of  men.  LaSalle 
started  up  the  river  with  thirty-three  men  in 
eight  canoes.  At  South  Bend  a  portage  of  six 
miles  was  made  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Kanka- 
kee  river,  down  which  they  paddled  their  canoes. 
On  the  fourth  day  of  January,  1680,  the  fleet 
entered  Peoria  lake,  at  the  south  end  of  which  he 


72  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 


built  a  fort  and  commenced  to  construct  a  ship 
of  about  thirty  tons  burden,  with  which  to  explore 
the  Mississippi  as  soon  as  the  season  would  per- 
mit. LaSalle,  with  his  two  Frenchmen  and  his 
faithful  Mohegan  Indian,  on  the  second  day  of 
March  started  for  Montreal.  The  lake  and  river 
were  not  yet  clear  of  ice  and  when  their  canoe 
could  not  be  floated  it  was  dragged  along  the 
shore  on  a  sled.  In  this  way  they  reached  a  point 
near  Joliet,  hid  their  canoe  in  the  brush  and  footed 
the  rest  of  the  way  to  Fort  Miami  at  the  mouth 
of  the  St.  Joe..  The  next  day  they  proceeded  on 
foot  across  Michigan,  crossed  the  Detroit  river 
and  walked  to  Niagara  Falls,  where  they  arrived 
nearer  dead  than  alive.  The  indomitable  leader 
at  once  left  for  Montreal. 

Talk  of  the  great  feats  of  travel  in  Africa  by 
Stanley,  backed  by  the  wealth  of  nations  giving 
him  all  the  conveniences  of  modern  times,  and 
wonder  at  his  success.  Then  compare  his  efforts 
with  that  simple  trip  made  on  foot  from  Peoria 
lake  to  Niagara  Falls  in  winter  and  early  spring, 
and  Stanley's  efforts  are  as  nothing  by  the  side 
of  this  trip  made  through  our  own  country  two 
hundred  years  ago. 

I  hold  in  my  hand  a  part  of  a  map  made  in 
from  records  and  maps  kept  by  LaSalle 


THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  73 

and  others  of  the  country  they  had  explored.  On 
this  map  is  the  south  end  of  Lake  Michigan,  Illi- 
nois river,  Spoon  river,  Sangamon,  Vermilion, 
Desplaines,  Fox,  Chicago,  Calumet,  Kankakee 
and  Iroquois.  The  Iroquois  river  is  correctly  de- 
lineated as  far  south  as  Watseka,  where  it  turns 
east.  While  I  am  not  able  to  prove  that  it  was 
ascended  as  far  as  that  point  by  the  French 
traders  two  hundred  years  ago,  I  believe  it  was. 
While  Lewis  Cass  was  in  France  about  fifty 
years  ago,  he  took  much  pains  to  gain  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  early  settlement  of  Detroit.  He 
employed  as  clerk,  Mr.  Margry,  a  young  French 
scholar.  Having  gained  permission  to  examine 
old  records,  the  work  was  commenced,  and 
Margry  has  continued  the  labor  up  to  this  date. 
The  information  thus  gained  was  deemed  of  so 
much  importance  that  Congress  asked  of  the 
French  government  permission  to  copy  all  the 
records  pertaining  to  the  early  French  settlement 
in  America.  Margry  has  been  employed  several 
years,  hunting  up  and  transcribing  old  manu- 
scripts for  the  work.  About  two  years  since  three 
large  volumes  were  issued  from  the  French  press, 
and  there  are  more  to  be  issued.  They  are  exact 
copies  of  the  original  documents  and  throw  a 
flood  of  light  on  this  interesting  subject.  There 


74  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

are  several  hundred  copies  of  this  work  in  Wash- 
ington, but  so  far  I  have  not  been  able  to  procure 
one.  If  I  did,  somebody  might  be  able  to  trans- 
late it  for  me,  and  the  proof  sought  for  be  found. 
However,  we  do  know  that  the  French  were  suf- 
ficiently near  this  town  in  1679  to  call  this  Old 
Settlers'  Reunion  a  double  centennial. 

Pioneers  in  Attendance 

The  following  table  presents  the  names  of  the 
venerable  pioneers  in  attendance  at  this  meeting, 
their  residence  and  age  at  that  date  (1879),  the 
date  of  their  arrival  in  this  part  of  the  country, 
and  the  state  from  which  they  came.  It  will  be 
observed  that  the  greater  number  came  prior  to 
1845,  and  some  as  early  as  1820.  This  list  does 
not  include  the  pioneer  women,  whose  names 
were  unfortunately  omitted  from  the  list: 

Name                           Residence     Age  Arrival  From 

Hon.  Micajah  Stanley,  Watseka.  69        1839  Ohio 

G.  Courtright,  Watseka 69        1830  Indiana 

F.   Fagan,  Watseka 57        1849  Indiana 

W.  S.  Moore,  Watseka 67        1831  Ohio 

David  Cass,  Watseka 52        1849  Ohio 

H.  W.  Hedger,  Watseka 60        1853  New  York 

S.  Hetfield,  Watseka 58        1850  Illinois 

John  L.  Donovan,  Watseka 54        1848  Kentucky 

S.  C.  Taylor,  Watseka 54        1849 

John  Reader,  Watseka 60  -1854  England 

John  Fry,  Watseka 74       1834  Ohio 


THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY 


75 


Name  Residence     Age 

J.  M.  Murray,  Watseka 65 

J.   Moore,  Watseka 75 

R.  Adsit,  Watseka 71 

James   Hoagland,  Iroquois 61 

Putnam  Gaffield,  Iroquois 68 

H.  D.  Strickler,  Iroquois 84 

W.  Lander,  Iroquois 78 

William   Dunning,    Iroquois 64 

James   Harding,   Iroquois 63 

John  Wagner,  Iroquois 63 

Gess  Markley,  Iroquois 59 

S.  R.  Caggatt 58 

Anderson  Tyler,  Iroquois 59 

Thomas  Markley,  Iroquois 50 

Isaac  Markley,  Iroquois .  63 

Elijah  Fry,  Iroquois 62 

Elijah  Karr,  Iroquois 56 

J.  Williams,  Iroquois 53 

A.   Sword,  Iroquois 64 

Abram  Coughneur,  Iroquois 69 

Samuel   Warrick,    Iroquois 68 

James  Whiteman,  Iroquois.  .....  64 

Charles  Hoagland,  Iroquois 73 

William  Young,  Iroquois 

Leonard  Hogle,  Iroquois 72 

Neighbor  Dean,  Iroquois 72 

Jackson  Torbet,   Iroquois 76 

Robert  Caldwell,  Sheldon 48 

J.  W.  Murray,  Sheldon 47 

S.  D.  Fry,  Sheldon 48 

William  Shortridge,  Sheldon ....  45 

W.  Atwood,  Sheldon 61 

J.  C.  Switzer,  Sheldon 53 

Molby  Potter,  Sheldon 52 

Isaac  Thomas,  Sheldon 52 

David  Gay,  Sheldon 66 

J.  Marlay,  Sheldon 58 


Arrival 
1835 
1831 
1853 
1845 
1857 
1835 
1844 
1834 
1843 
1838 
1855 


From 

Indiana 

Ohio 

New  York 
Ohio 
Ohio 
Ohio 
Ohio 

New  York 
Ohio 
Ohio 
Ohio 


1845  Pennsylvania 

1 847  Indiana 

1851  Ohio 
1 845  Ohio 
1844  Ohio 

1835  Ohio 
1856  Kentucky 
1855  Scotland 

1836  Ohio 
1853  Ohio 
1839  Ohio. 

1836  Ohio 
1853  New  York 

1837  Ohio 
1828  Virginia 
1847  Ohio 

1852  Ohio 
1836  Ohio 
1836  Ohio 
1859  Indiana 
1 844  New  York 
1828  Ohio 
1852  New  York 
1835  Virginia 
1852  Ohio 
1844  Germany 


76 


A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 


Name  Residence     Age 

E.  Burchchim,   Kankakee 57 

D.  VanMeter,  Kankakee 70 

J.   Flagole,  Kankakee 65 

Noel    Vasseur,    Kankakee 82 

J.  Yongar,  Kankakee.  .  .  . . 84 

R.  Nichols,  Kankakee 67 

A.  Webster,   Kankakee 67 

T.  N.  Pangburn,  Onarga 73 

R.  D.  Pangburn,  Onarga 66 

M.  H.  Messer,  Onarga 50 

James  Padgett,  Newton  Co 55 

Joseph  Law,  Newton  Co 52 

Henry  Rider,  Newton  Co 63 

William  Best,  Newton  Co 57 

J.  Mires,  Newton  Co 44 

W.  Littlejohn,  Newton  Co 53 

P.  H.  Hunter,  Newton  Co 79 

W.  Sallee,  Newton  Co 59 

T.  Barker,  Beaver  Tp . 66 

J.  L.  Perrigo,  Beaver  Tp 70 

F.  Moore,  Beaver  Tp 73 

F.  Elijah,  Morocco 58 

D.  M.  Pulver,  Morocco 50 

L.  Sladdard,  Momence 71 

Ben  Stearman,  Momence 74 

S.  L.  Sparling,  Jasper  Co 70 

C.  Wadley,  Waldron 53 

J.  Macalay,  Tucker 54 

Potter   Austin,  Wellington 51 

J.  L.  Bailey,  Belmont 59 

W.  H.  Henry,  Indiana 52 

Hyram  Vennum,  Milford 65 

William  Best,  Indiana 57 

W.  Harritt,  Indiana 56 


Arrival  From 

1838  New  York 
1845  Ohio 

1834  Canada 
1821  Canada 
1842  Connecticut 
1832  Pennsylvania 
1845  New  York 
1837  Ohio 
1837  New  York 

1855  Mass. 
1852  Indiana 

1830  Ohio 

1836  Ohio 
1857  Ohio 

1837  Indiana 

1856  Ohio 
1861  Maine 

1855  Ohio 

1831  England 
1860  New  Jersey 
1831  Ohio 

1835  New  York 
1830  New  York 
1842  ;     Canada 

1839  Virginia 

1836  New  York 
1828  New  York 

1856  Pennsylvania 
1852  New  York 
1854  Indiana 
1830 

1834  Pennsylvania 

1837  Ohio 
1848  Indiana 


THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  77 

Home  Coming 

Another  notable  event  in  the  history  of  Iro- 
quois  was  a  Home-coming,  which  was  held  in 
Dunning  Park  July  3  and  4,  1914.  The  affair 
was  well  advertised  and  the  plan  well  worked  out, 
and  an  excellent  program  was  provided.  The 
attendance  was  large  beyond  all  expectations.  A 
conservative  estimate  placed  the  crowd  the  second 
day  at  twelve  thousand.  The  attendance  on  the 
first  day  was  not  so  large.  R.  W.  Brown  was 
president  and  H.  B.  Francis  secretary  of  the 
association.  R.  F.  Karr  was  moderator.  The 
program  both  days  presented  attractive  features. 
Men  of  national  reputation  delivered  addresses. 
George  Ade,  the  playwright  and  noted  author, 
whose  parents  were  old  settlers  of  Iroquois,  was 
present  and  spoke;  also  United  States  Senator 
L.  Y.  Sherman  of  Illinois  delivered  an  address. 
This  is  said  to  have  been  the  largest  gathering 
ever  assembled  in  the  county,  and,  like  the  Old 
Settlers'  Reunion  held  in  the  same  place  thirty- 
five  years  before,  the  occasion  of  the  only  visit  of 
many  aged  people  to  scenes  of  their  early  lives. 

No  small  part  of  the  great  success  of  this  home- 
coming was  due  to  the  generous  publicity  given 
by  the  Iroquois  County  Times-Democrat.  This 
paper  also  devoted  an  entire  page  to  a  report  of 


78  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

the  meeting,  including  the  address  by  George 
Ade,  which  is  here  presented. 

The  following  address  by  George  Ade,  deliv- 
ered on  this  occasion,  was  not  only  a  glowing  trib- 
ute to  the  community,  but  a  happy  expression 
of  that  indescribable  emotion  which  stirs  the  soul 
of  every  man  who,  after  a  long  absence,  returns 
to  the  scenes  of  his  early  childhood.  He  said : 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  I  feel  that  I  have  a 
right  to  come  here  and  celebrate  today  because 
my  father  was  an  early  resident  of  this  town.  He 
was  always  greatly  interested  in  Bunkum.  As 
far  back  as  I  can  remember,  when  our  family 
first  put  on  style  with  a  two-seated  carriage,  our 
favorite  Sunday  drive  was  across  the  prairie  and 
through  the  timber  from  Kentland  to  Bunkum. 
I  have  a  second  excuse  for  being  here.  Although 
born  in  Indiana,  I  was,  for  nearly  fifteen  years,  a 
resident  of  Illinois.  A  friend  of  mine  said  once 
that  I  was  a  Hoosier  by  birth  but  a  Sucker  by 
instinct.  At  least  I  have  enough  of  a  neighborly 
interest  to  come  here  today,  because  I  believe  we 
should  be  loyal  to  our  old  homes  and  our  old 
friends. 

The  gentlemen  who  put  my  name  on  the  bills 
did  not  say  whether  I  was  expected  to  go  up  in  a 
balloon  and  make  a  parachute  drop  or  engage  in 


THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  79 

a  wrestling  match  with  one  of  the  large  husky 
blacksmiths  from  Chicago.  As  I  have  the  privi- 
lege of  choosing  my  own  stunt,  I  have  decided 
that  I  will  merely  stand  up  here  for  a  few  minutes 
and  exhibit  myself  and. then  retire  in  favor  of 
those  who  have  more  lung-power  and  larger 
vocabularies. 

When  a  man  starts  in  to  say  something,  I  think 
it  is  a  grand  idea  for  him  to  talk  about  the  things 
that  he  knows  something  about. 

In  the  last  twenty  years  I  have  been  a  some- 
what restless  traveler.  I  have  had  what  the  Ger- 
mans call  the  wanderlust.  I  didn't  want  to  re- 
main more  than  twenty  minutes  in  one  spot.  For 
a  year  or  two  I  have  been  more  content  to  settle 
down  and  stay  at  home  for  at  least  a  week  at  a 
stretch,  which  is  probably  a  sign  that  I  am  grow- 
ing old.  However,  before  I  calmed  down,  I  made 
several  trips  to  Europe,  extending  my  travels  to 
include  Turkey  and  up  the  Nile  into  Africa.  I 
went  down  to  look  at  the  Panama  Canal  four 
times  while  it  was  being  excavated,  visiting  the 
West  Indies  and  the  edge  of  South  America  on 
the  same  cruises.  I  have  been  to  the  Philippine 
Islands  and  have  visited  China  and  Japan  each 
three  times.  Five  years  ago  I  went  around  the 
world,  and  moved  among  the  swarming  popula- 


80  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

tions  of  Ceylon,  India,  Burmah,  Java  and  those 
great  Malay  colonies  between  India  and  China. 
It  is  not  my  desire  to  blow  about  my  travels,  but 
to  let  you  know  that  I  have  been  to  nearly  all  of 
the  places  that  keep  open,  and,  unless  I  have  had 
my  eyes  closed,  I  should  know  something  as  to 
the  relative  advantages  enjoyed  by  a  man  living 
on  the  banks  of  the  Iroquois  in  this  county,  on 
the  banks  of  the  Thames  in  England,  the  Rhine  in 
Germany,  the  Tiber  in  Italy,  the  Nile  in  Egypt 
and  the  Yangtse  in  China.  Whenever  I  come 
home  after  a  few  weeks  or  a  few  months  under 
other  flags  I  am  always  newly  impressed  and 
struck  with  wonder  to  think  that  I  am  living  in 
the  one  region  on  the  whole  globe  where  actual 
poverty  is  almost  unknown.  Right  here,  where 
we  are  living,  is  the  only  part  of  the  inhabited 
earth  in  which  the  farmer,  the  man  who  tills  the 
fields,  who  gets  out  and  buckles  down  to  the  prim- 
itive proposition  of  wrestling  wealth  from  the  soil, 
rides  about  in  a  Ford  car,  has  a  piano  or  a  talk- 
ing machine  in  the  front  room  and  a  cream  sep- 
arator in  the  kitchen,  a  balance  in  the  bank  and 
meat  on  the  table.  The  average  every-day  man, 
right  here  in  our  neighborhood,  is  better  fed,  bet- 
ter clothed  and  better  housed  than  any  other  plain 
citizen  in  any  other  country. 


"THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  81 

Many  of  the  older  countries  are  much  more 
attractive  as  scenery.  They  look  better  from  a 
car  window  to  the  man  passing  through.  The 
fields  are  small  and  cultivated  like  gardens  and 
the  yield  per  acre  is  much  larger  than  it  is  with  us. 
The  roads  are  as  smooth  as  boulevards.  The 
grass  plats  and  hedges  on  either  side  are  as  trim 
and  neat  as  those  of  Lincoln  Park.  There  is  less 
litter  and  waste  around  the  farm-houses  and  out- 
buildings. In  fact,  the  humble  agriculturist  of 
Europe  has  set  several  good  examples  to  the 
American  farmer ;  but,  thanks  to  flic  fact  that  we 
have  a  new  country  and  our  population  has  not 
yet  congested,  each  man  finds  elbow  room  here  in 
the  Mississippi  valley  and  the  new  wealth  can  be 
so  divided  each  year  that  even  the  man  with  the 
hoe  can  get  in  all  of  the  necessities  and  some  of  the 
luxuries — such  as  moving  pictures,  although 
many  people  now  regard  them  as  necessities. 

We  are  singularly  blessed  here  in  the  corn  belt. 
Let  us  hope  that  the  farmers  may  continue  to  live 
in  comfortable  houses  and  drive  their  Ford  cars 
and  get  measured  for  their  clothes  instead  of  buy- 
ing them  off  the  shelf. 

When  we  have  200,000,000  people  in  the  United 
States  and  no  more  acres  to  divide  among  them 
than  at  present,  we  will  have  new  problems  of 


82  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

management  to  take  up  and  solve.  No  doubt  they 
will  be  solved  by  the  campaign  orators  when  the 
proper  time  comes.  In  the  meantime,  permit  me 
to  suggest  that  we  should  rejoice  because  we  have 
been  favored  and  we  should  lay  all  of  our  plans  so 
that  the  plain,  every-day,  stump-pulling  and  corn- 
plowing  citizen  may  continue  to  have  a  look-in  at 
the  good  things  of  this  life. 

Licensed  Saloons 

When  Iroquois  was  first  incorporated  under 
village  organiaation,  its  inhabitants  immediately 
divided  into  two  parties- -the  wet  and  the  dry- 
between  which  there  was  no  compromise.  The 
licensed  saloon  became  not  only  the  most  impor- 
tant issue,  but  the  only  issue.  Candidates  for 
the  village  offices  were  nominated  and  elected  or 
defeated  with  reference  to  their  attitude  upon 
this  question.  No  other  qualification  was  consid- 
ered. The  stock  arguments  in  favor  of  the  saloon 
were  repeated  in  each  succeeding  campaign  until 
they  were  believed  by  those  who  used  them.  At 
first  the  wets  had  the  slight  advantage  in  num- 
bers, and  the  drys  in  point  of  influence.  The 
saloons  were  voted  in  one  year  only  to  be  voted 
out  the  next.  Thus  the  pendulum  swung  back 
and  forth  between  the  wets  and  the  drys  for 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  83 

twenty  years,  each  time  swinging  a  little  stronger 
to  the  drys,  until  a  decision  was  returned  from 
the  ballot  box  so  decisive  that  it  was  accepted  by 
both  sides  as  final.  The  village  saw  the  hand- 
writing on  the  wall  and  did  not  wait  for  the  em- 
phatic decision  made  by  the  township  under  town- 
ship option  several  years  later.  While  the  saloon 
has  asserted  a  baneful  influence  upon  society  and 
politics  in  Iroquois  as  well  as  elsewhere,  it  has 
also  been  a  schoolmaster,  teaching  the  people  by 
concrete  example,  the  important  lesson  that 
licensing  an  evil  in  order  to  collect  a  revenue  from 
the  foibles  and  vices  of  the  people  is  a  poor  method 
of  building  up  a  community  in  its  civic  pride  or 
its  public  improvements. 

Inventive  Genius 

Iroquois  has  not  been  without  its  citizens  of 
inventive  genius.  The  self-binder,  which  came 
into  general  use  and  has  been  a  boon  to  the  farmer 
as  a  labor-saving  machine,  was  first  invented  by 
Daniel  Ayers,  an  early  resident  of  Iroquois.  He 
failed  to  receive  any  profit  from  his  patent.  The 
machine  was  constructed  to  use  wire  to  tie  the 
sheaf  instead  of  twine.  Wire  was  not  in  favor. 
A  man  named  Appleby  saw  this  point  and  in- 
vented the  knotter,  which  used  twine  instead  of 


84  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

wire.  But  he  borrowed  the  original  idea  of  a 
self-binder  from  Ayers. 

Samuel  F.  Nosker,  an  old  resident,  after  many 
years  of  close  application,  succeeded  in  inventing 
a  seed-drill  attachment  which  also  came  into  gen- 
eral use,  but  was  afterwards  appropriated  by  an 
Ohio  firm.  Nosker,  like  his  predecessor,  was  un- 
fortunate in  receiving  no  remuneration  for  his 
genius. 

James  Humphreys  spent  several  years  of  his 
life  in  perfecting  his  invention  of  a  tile  and  sewer- 
age ditching  machine.  He  finally  disposed  of  his 
patents  to  his  son,  Walter  G.,  who  made  valuable 
improvements  upon  which  he  has  secured  pat- 
ents. Being  possessed  of  business  ability,  as  well 
as  inventive  genius,  he  has  kept  control  of  his 
patents  and  is  now  operating  a  large  number  of 
these  machines  in  the  western  states.  Mr.  Hum- 
phreys, who  has  made  his  home  in  Iroquois  all 
his  life,  manufactures  his  own  machines,  and  has 
achieved  great  success. 

%         Influential  Citizens 

Every  town  has  its  prominent  characters,  who 
live  and  die  in  the  community  and  during  their 
active  lives  shape  and  mould  its  social  and  polit- 
ical life  and  whose  influence  lives  after  them. 


THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  85 

Iroquois  has  been  no  exception  to  this  rule.  A 
number  of  these  characters  of  an  early  date  will 
be  noticed  in  connection  with  the  township  affairs. 
But  a  few  were  more  closely  associated  with  the 
life  of  the  village  and  will  be  mentioned  in  con- 
nection with  its  history. 

Walter  B.  Simonds  was  a  resident  of  Iroquois 
for  twenty  years  and  died  in  1891.  He  was  su- 
pervisor, justice  of  the  peace  and  town  clerk, 
holding  one  or  more  of  these  offices  most  of  the 
time.  He  had  political  aspirations  and  at  one 
time  was  a  candidate  for  the  legislature.  He  was 
a  man  of  generous  impulses  and  possessed  a  won- 
derful knowledge  of  history  and  current  events. 

David  H.  Ely,  who  died  in  Iroquois  in  1907, 
had  been  a  resident  of  the  town  for  forty-eight 
years.  He  was  a  veteran  of  the  civil  war  and  was 
engaged  in  the  lumber  business  more  than  thirty 
years  of  his  active  life.  He  was  repeatedly 
elected  to  some  village  office  and  that  of  justice 
of  the  peace.  He  was  well  known  in  the  town- 
ship for  his  mechanical  ingenuity  and  his  literary 
attainments. 

Dr.  A.  T.  Crozier  will  long  be  remembered  by 
the  people  of  Iroquois,  a  practicing  physician  of 
great  local  popularity.  He  came  to  the  village  in 
1864  and  died  in  1891.  He  was  an  accomplished 


86  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

scholar  and  gave  much  of  his  time  to  charity.  His 
exceptionally  affable  disposition  won  a  host  of 
friends. 

Peter  V.  Frownfelter  and  Mrs.  M.  Erasta,  his 
wife,  came  to  Iroquois  early  in  the  40's.  Mr. 
Frownfelter  died  in  1886,  Mrs.  Frownfelter  in 
1899.  They  were  among  the  most  prominent  of 
the  early  settlers.  They  held  at  different  times 
the  offices  of  tax  collector,  township  treasurer 
and  postmaster,  and  were  leaders  in  the  social 
affairs  of  the  community  in  an  early  day.  Their 
home  was  often  open  to  the  poor  who  were  in  need 
of  shelter  or  food. 

Young  Men's  Opportunity 

Iroquois  has  given  to  the  world  many  exam- 
ples of  the  wonderful  possibilities  which  this  coun- 
try offers  to  the  young  men  of  pep  and  energy, 
examples  which  contain  an  inspiration  to  the  boy 
with  an  ambition  to  contribute  to  the  world's 
happiness  and  progress. 

Charles  Sherman,  Dr.  Fowler,  John  L.  Dono- 
van, William  Smith,  Judge  Chamberlain  and 
Judge  Blades  in  an  early  day  were  residents  of 
Iroquois,  where  as  young  men  they  laid  the  foun- 
dation of  their  future  success. 

In  subsequent  years  many  new  examples  have 


"THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY 


87 


appeared.  Charles  Partridge,  a  poor  boy  in  Iro- 
quois,  with  a  kit  of  carpenter's  tools  and  enough 
money  saved  up  to  buy  a  railroad  ticket,  located 
in  the  city  of  Omaha.  He  began  at  the  bottom, 


Mrs.  Cora  (Fry)  Brown  of  Iroquois,  a  granddaughter  and  possibly 
the  only  living  descendant  of  Benjamin  Fry,  the  first  permanent  settler  of 
Concord. 

but  kept  climbing  until  he  became  one  of  the  lead- 
ing contractors  and  builders  of  that  city.  Will- 
iam Brown,  who  spent  his  boyhood  days  in  Iro- 
quois, went  to  Chicago,  worked  his  way  through 
law  school  and  is  now  recognized  as  a  lawyer  of 


88  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

prominence  and  ability  in  that  city.  Walter  G. 
Humphreys,  already  mentioned  in  connection 
with  his  indention,  was  the  son  of  poor  parents 
living  in  Iroquois.  He  began  his  active  career  as 
a  country  school  teacher.  A  tireless  worker,  he 
developed  into  a  man  of  executive  ability  and  is 
now  conducting  an  extensive  business  of  his  own 
in  the  western  states,  with  headquarters  at  Omaha. 
His  original  investment  was  character  and  appli- 
cation. William  Dale,  now  a  resident  of  Kanka- 
kee,  began  his  career  in  Iroquois  as  a  day  laborer. 
His  assets  consisted  of  a  tile  spade,  a  level  head 
and  two  willing  hands.  He  is  now  prominent  in 
financial  circles  and  controls  large  holdings  in 
Concord  township  and  elsewhere. 

This  list  might  be  extended,  but  these  examples 
will  suffice  to  impress  the  point  upon  the  young 
man  of  Iroquois,  that  the  world  invites  him  to  a 
wider  field  of  usefulness,  and  it  is  up  to  him  to 
accept  or  decline  the  invitation.  Neither  poverty 
nor  obscurity  can  shackle  the  growth  of  the  young 
man  with  character  and  ambition  who  is  willing 
to  work.  Efficiency  will  come  with  effort.  No 
matter  how  crowded  at  the  base,  there  is  plenty  of 
room  at  the  top. 


THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  89 

Branches  of  Business 

The  business  interests  of  Iroquois  are  well 
represented  in  the  following  lines : 

A  general  merchandise  store,  conducted  by 
S.  M.  Clarke. 

A  grocery  store,  conducted  by  F.  E.  Martin. 

Two  restaurants,  one  by  C.  P.  Salkeld,  one  by 
R.  B.  Brown. 

One  market,  conducted  by  Thomas  Smith. 

One  harness  and  shoe  store,  by  N.  W.  Tyler. 

One  implement  store,  conducted  by  Robert 
Barr. 

One  hardware  store,  conducted  by  Spitler  Bros. 
Co.  |  ;  .'  •  "  .  ,  ••  '••'•• 

One  telephone  exchange,  conducted  by  W.  S. 
Fish. 

One  garage,  conducted  by  Mattox  Bros. 

One  banking  house,  conducted  by  F.  E. 
Martin. 

One  blacksmith  shop,  by  Bert  Lorison. 

One  fire  insurance  agency,  by  John  H.  Francis. 

One  live  stock  market,  by  Karr  and  Hook. 

One  barber  shop,  by  F.  A.  Wiltshire. 

One  lumber  yard,  by  Salem  Ely. 

Two  grain  and  coal  companies,  the  Risser  and 
Dale  Elevator,  conducted  by  A.  E.  Dale,  and 
the  Farmers'  Elevator,  conducted  by  F.  W.  Kee, 


90  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 


The  health  of  the  community  is  in  the  hands  of 
two  capable  physicians- -Dr.  Chas.  E.  Peel  and 
Dr.  J.  T.  Rea.  Its  spiritual  welfare  is  in  the 
care  of  Rev.  A.  A.  Belyea,  pastor  of  the  M.  E. 
Church. 

Iroquois  has  a  well  equipped  post  office,  with 
Clem  H.  Hughs  as  postmaster.  It  has  no  manu- 
facturing industries. 

Fraternal  Societies 

Iroquois  is  well  represented  in  fraternal  socie- 
ties. The  oldest  of  these  is  O.  H.  Miner  Lodge 
506,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  organized  in  1866.  This 
society  is  perhaps  the  strongest  and  has  a  present 
membership"  of  about  seventy. 

River  Lodge  586,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  was  instituted 
twenty  years  later.  The  Eastern  Star,  Rebeccas, 
Modern  Woodmen,  Royal  Neighbors,  and  the 
Red  Cross  have  been  established  at  different  times 
since.  The  Red  Cross,  which  is  now  active  in 
work  connected  with  the  present  war,  was  the 
latest  to  be  organized.  These  societies  have  been 
active  in  their  work  for  the  betterment  of  their 
individual  membership  and  the  community. 


THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY 


91 


Iroquois'  Development 

The  village  in  recent  years  has  made  decided 
advancement  as  a  residence  town.  Its  homes 
have  been  greatly  improved  and  better  dwellings 
have  been  erected  in  place  of  the  former  ones. 


Clem  H.  Hughes,  Iroquois  Postmaster. 

Modern  equipment  has  been  installed  in  many  of 
them.  Its  streets  and  public  walks  have  received 
better  attention  and  are  kept  in  the  best  condition. 
The  civic  pride  of  its  inhabitants  has  become  more 
manifested, 


92  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

As  a  business  town  it  has  also  shown  improve- 
ment on  the  whole.  Its  banking  facilities  are 
much  better  than  formerly.  Several  substantial 
public  buildings  have  been  added  within  recent 
years.  It  has  grown  as  a  lumber  market.  Per- 
haps its  greatest  advance  has  been  made  as  a  grain 
market.  Its  grain  elevators  are  doing  an  im- 
mense business  which  is  on  the  increase. 

In  population  and  in  other  branches  it  has  more 
than  held  its  own.  Like  other  small  towns,  sim- 
ilarly situated,  it  has  had  to  contend  with  chang- 
ing commercial  conditions  which  have  been  det- 
rimental to  the  village  in  certain  branches  of 
trade.  The  mail  order  house,  the  rural  delivery, 
the  parcel-post  and  other  factors  have  a  tendency 
to  divert  trade  to  the  cities. 

This  adverse  condition  will  continue  until  the 
small  town  merchant  learns  the  art  of  co-opera- 
tion and  the  art  of  buying  and  advertising.  The 
remedy  is  within  his  grasp  and  some  day  he  will 
awaken  to  the  fact.  Then  Iroquois,  in  common 
with  other  small  villages,  will  take  on  new  life  and 
new  growth. 


"-THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  »3 

HISTORY  OF  CONCORD  TOWNSHIP 

Location 

Concord  township  formerly  included  Sheldon 
township.  The  latter,  however,  was  separated 
and  placed  under  township  organization  in  1868. 
It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Beaver  township, 
on  the  east  by  the  Indiana  state  line,  on  the  south 
by  Sheldon  township  and  on  the  west  by  Middle- 
port  township.  It  comprises  town  twenty-seven 
north,  range  eleven  west,  and  fractional  town 
twenty-seven  north,  range  ten  west  of  the  second 
principal  meridian.  These  towns  are  numbered 
north  from  a  given  base  line.  It  extends  six  miles 
north  and  south  and  nearly  seven  miles  east  and 
west.  The  fractional  range  of  about  three- 
fourths  of  a  mile  in  width  lying  along  the  Indiana 
line  is  a  part  of  this  township.  This  accounts  for 
its  irregular  dimensions.  It  contains  thirty-six 
whole  sections  and  six  fractional  sections,  ap- 
proximately 26,000  acres.  A  full  section  con- 
tains 640  acres.  It  was  surveyed  by  the  United 
States  government  as  early  as  1822,  except  range 
ten,  which  was  surveyed  in  1834.  Although  it 
had  its  definite  boundary  lines  and  was  a  definite 
political  unit,  it  remained  under  the  commission 
form  of  government  until  the  year  1856. 


A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 


Organization 

Concord  township,  although  one  of  the  first  in 
the  state  to  change  its  form  of  government,  was 


Peter  B.  Strickler,  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  War,  Co.  F,  155th  Illinois 
Infantry,  who  enlisted  from  Concord  township.  Was  born  in  Page  County, 
Virginia  in  1827.  Settled  in  Concord  Township  in  1835  and  will  soon  cele- 
brate his  ninety-second  birthday.  He  is  the  oldest  living  resident  of  the 
township  and  perhaps  of  the  county.  He  enjoys  excellent  health  and  is  able 
to  do  a  day's  work  on  the  farm.  He  attended  the  Iroquois  County  Fair 
the  present  year  and  had  a  jolly  time  with  the  boys. 

not  organized  under  township  organization  until 
the  year  1856.  For  this  purpose  a  meeting  was 
held  in  April  of  that  year  by  the  resident  voters. 


"THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  95 

The  persons  then  elected  to  fill  the  different  offices 
.were:  Jesse  Eastburn,  supervisor;  Amos  O. 
Whiteman,  town  clerk;  Abram  Hogle,  assessor; 
P.  V.  Frownfelter,  collector;  Samuel  Warrick, 
overseer  of  the  poor;  A.  C.  Mantor,  Isaac  M. 
Caldwell,  and  James  H.  Karr,  highway  commis- 
sioners. 

Prominent  Men 

With  this  election  began  the  history  of  the 
township  under  its  present  form  of  government. 
These  first  officers  were  prominent  in  the  affairs 
of  the  community  at  that  time  and  continued 
their  activity  in  its  development  for  many  years 
after.  They  were  capable  and  faithful  in  the  dis- 
charge of  their  official  duty.  Amos  O.  Whiteman 
at  one  time  served  as  county  surveyor  and  for  a 
number  of  years  as  justice  of  the  peacel  Abram 
Hogle  was  also  justice  of  the  peace  and  super- 
visor. Samuel  Warrick  was  also  supervisor  one 
term.  James  H.  Karr  served  one  term  as  sheriff 
of  Iroquois  county. 

A  list  of  the  succeeding  supervisors  who  were 
elected  for  one  or  more  terms  in  this  township, 
down  to  the  present  time,  in  the  order  of  their 
respective  terms  of  service,  would  include :  A.  J. 
Willard,  James  H.  Karr,  Abram  Hogle,  W.  H. 


96 


A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 


McClain,  J.  B.  S trickier,  W.  B.  Simonds,  John 
H.  Karr,  John  Crouch,  H.  M.  Whiteman,  R.  F, 
Karr,  N.  D.  Pearce  and  Chas.  E.  Strand. 


Benjamin  Fry,  the  first  permanent  settler  of  Concord  Township  and 
of  the  county.  Was  the  most  widely  known  pioneer  in  Eastern  Illinois. 
In  an  early  day,  on  horseback,  he  hurried  to  Chicago  to  help  defend  that 
city,  then  a  village,  from  a  threatened  attack  of  hostile  Indians. 

Early  Settlements 

The  first  white  men  to  locate  in  Concord  town- 
ship were  Gurdon  S.  Hubbard  and  Noel  Vasseur, 
Indian  traders.  Their  object  was  not  to  establish 
a  home  but  to  traffic  with  the  Indians.  In  the  fall 
of  1822  Hubbard  established  a  trading  post  just 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  97 

across  the  road  from  the  present  residence  of  S.  C. 
Salkeld,  about  one  mile  east  of  Iroquois.  This 
building,  made  from  hewn  logs,  remained  intact 
until  1860,  when  it  was  torn  down.  In  1826  Hub- 
bard  pre-empted  a  piece  of  land  just  north  of 
Iroquois,  later  known  as  the  Wm.  H.  Dunning 
farm,  now  owned  by  Fred  Miller  and  Judge  Ray- 
mond. Hubbard  cultivated  a  part  of  this  land. 
This  was  the  first  tract  of  land  put  under  cultiva- 
tion in  Iroquois  county.  Hubbard  married  an 
Indian  woman  whom  he  afterwards  divorced. 
The  widow  then  became  the  wife  of  Noel  Vasseur, 
who  later  moved  to  Burbonnais  Grove,  Illinois. 
Hubbard  in  1834  moved  to  Chicago,  where  he 
remained  until  his  death.  Vasseur  visited  Iro- 
quois in  1879  and  delivered  an  address  at  an  Old 
Settlers'  reunion  held  in  Dunning  Park.  Allen 
Baxter  was  in  the  employ  of  Hubbard,  his  wife 
being  the  first  white  woman  to  live  in  the  town- 
ship or  in  the  county. 

Pioneer  Settlers 

As  early  as  1830  permanent  settlements  were 
begun  in  reality.  Immigrants  came  to  the  new 
country  with  the  idea  to  establish  permanent 
homes  and  build  up  the  country.  Among  the  first 
pioneers  to  locate  were  John  H.  Miller  and  the 


98  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

three  Courtright  brothers,  Hezekiah  Eastburn, 
Wm.  Hanan,  Elijah  Newcombe,  Benjamine  Fry, 
James  Crozier,  Benjamin  Thomas,  John  Hoag- 
land  and  Mitchell  Dunn.  A.  Pineo,  Asa  Gaffield 
and  Henry  Enslin  were  also  among  the  first  set- 
tlers. Dunn  was  the  first  sheriff  of  the  county. 

tf 

Isaac  Courtright  was  the  first  postmaster  and  the 
first  justice  of  the  peace.  E.  D.  Boone  was  the 
first  justice  of  the  peace  after  Iroquois  county 
was  organized.  Originally,  Vermilion  county  in- 
cluded Iroquois  county.  The  dividing  line  be- 
tween Vermilion  and  Cook  county  was  the  Kan- 
kakee  river.  In  1833  Iroquois  county  was  made 
a  separate  county.  And  in  1835  the  county  seat 
was  located  at  Montgomery,  where  it  remained 
for  four  years,  when  it  was  removed  to  Middle- 
port. 

A  New  Country 

These  early  settlers  found  a  country  entirely 
new,  rich  in  virgin  forest  and  level  prairie,  with 
wild  game  in  abundance,  untrodden  except  by  the 
Red  man — a  land  of  most  wonderful  promise. 
Concord  township  was  about  three-fourths  prairie 
and  about  one-fourth  timber.  It  is  well  watered 
by  the  Iroquois  river,  which  runs  through  it  from 
east  to  the  southwest,  affording  a  most  excellent 


THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  99 

drainage.  Along  this  stream  on  either  side  was 
a  belt  of  heavy  timber  consisting  of  black  walnut, 
white  oak,  bur  oak,  ash,  hickory,  elm  and  other 
varieties  of  valuable  timber.  Most  of  this  has 
since  yielded  to  the  woodman's  axe  and  been  con- 
verted into  fence  rails,  fence  posts,  saw  logs,  fuel, 
and  at  one  time  into  log  cabins.  On  either  side 
of  this  timber  belt  is  a  continuous  prairie  whose 
soil  is  rich  and  highly  productive.  North  of  the- 
river  the  surface  is  slightly  undulating,  while 
south  of  the  river  it  is  more  level.  It  lies  within 
the  famous  corn  belt  of  Illinois  and  is  well 
adapted  for  the  raising  of  corn,  oats,  wheat,  rye, 
clover,  timothy  and  many  other  products  of  the 
soil. 

American  Indian 

These  pioneers  found  the  township  already  in- 
habited by  the  American  Indian.  These  natives 
grouped  in  tribes  and  had  their  huts  and  wig- 
wams and  villages,  and  lived  mostly  by  hunting 
and  fishing.  They  lived  close  to  nature  and 
mostly  out  in  the  open.  Their  clothes  were  made 
from  the  skins  of  animals  and  their  domestic  uten- 
sils and  their  weapons  used  in  hunting  were  the 
most  crude  and  simple  in  type.  They  had  no 
higher  ideals  and  cared  little  for  the  comforts  of 


100  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

• 

civilization.  There  was  a  large  settlement  at 
Montgomery,  where  also  was  located  an  Indian 
cemetery.  Evidences  of  the  location  of  this  cem- 
etery are  disclosed  even  to  this  day.  Several 
Indian  mounds  within  the  township  have  not  en- 
tirely disappeared.  The  largest  of  these  is  located 
on  the  Bush  farm,  south  of  the  river  and  near 
the  state  line.  The  Indians  of  this  section,  how- 
ever, remained  friendly  to  the  white  man.  In 
1834  they  were  removed  by  order  of  the  govern- 
ment to  their  reservations  west  of  the  Mississippi 
river. 

Period  of  Slow  Development 

The  settlement  and  development  of  Concord 
township  during  the  succeeding  period  of  a  quar- 
ter century  was  not  rapid.  There  were  a  number 
of  contributing  causes. 

First-  -There  were  no  markets  for  the  surplus 
products  available.  Chicago  was  the  nearest, 
being  seventy-six  miles  distant.  Pack  horses  and 
ox  teams  afforded  about  the  only  means  of  trans- 
portation. No  roads  nor  bridges,  but  swamps 
and  sloughs  and  swollen  rivers,  which  were  im- 
passable except  during  the  dry  season. 

Second-  -these  early  settlers  did  not  all  foresee 
the  wonderful  possibilities  in  store  for  them  nor 


THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  101 

the  unbounded  resources  that  would  come  with 
the  development  of  the  country.  Some  became 
pessimistic  and  moved  on  further  west.  Most  of 
them  came  from  timbered  countries,  east  and 
south,  and  had  little  faith  in  the  productive  capac- 
ity of  prairie  land.  They  settled  along  the  timber 
belt  with  the  belief  that  the  wide  stretch  of  prairie 
would  always  remain  a  waste  desert.  Had  they 
emigrated  from  prairie  countries  they  would  have 
selected  the  prairie  land  here  instead  of  that  ad- 
joining the  timber  belt.  It  was  only  natural  that 
they  should  bring  with  them  to  the  new  country 
their  prejudices  as  well  as  their  dogs. 

Third — During  this  period  the  new  country 
was  decidedly  unhealthful.  The  germ  theory  of 
disease  had  not  yet  been  discovered  and  the 
sources  of  attack  were  unknown  even  to  medical 
science  of  that  day.  Ague,  chills  and  fever,  ma- 
larial fever,  typhoid  fever  and  other  diseases  in- 
cident to  the  new  country,  were  alarmingly 
prevalent  and  often  fatal.  The  medical  profes- 
sion were  powerless  to  prevent  their  frequent  at- 
tack nor  to  apply  modern  scientific  methods  of 
treatment.  Artesian  wells  were  not  discovered 
until  1856,  and  the  surface  wells  upon  which  the 
people  relied  with  confidence  for  drinking  water 
were  shallow  and  often  contaminated  with  ty- 


102  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

phoid  and  other  fatal  disease  germs.  Flies, 
mosquitoes,  rats  and  other  germ-carriers  were 
unsuspected.  The  mortality  toll  was  high.  These 
evils  were  surely  bad  enough,  but  still  worse  was 
the  disposition  to  regard  them  as  permanent. 

Milk  Sickness 

Another  serious  drawback  to  the  early  settle- 
ment of  Concord  township  was  a  serious  and  often 
fatal  malady  known  as  milk-sickness.  It  ap- 
peared in  the  form  of  a  malignant  fever,  attack- 
ing man  and  some  of  the  lower  animals,  such  as 
cattle,  horses,  sheep  and  dogs.  It  was  confined 
to  the  timber  lands  and  appeared  only  in  the 
autumn  of  the  year.  The  inhabitants  became  in- 
fected by  using  the  meat,  milk,  butter  or  cheese  of 
the  infected  cattle.  The  symptoms  were  head- 
ache, loss  of  appetite,  fatigue,  nausea,  vomiting, 
thirst,  constipation,  a  peculiar  foul  breath,  then 
a  typhoidal  condition  with  coma  or  convulsions. 
The  duration  of  the  disease  was  from  two  or  three 
days  to  as  many  weeks.  The  cause  of  this  once 
dreaded  disease  has  never  been  discovered.  The 

M 

supposition  was  that  the  cause  existed  in  some 
poisonous  herbs  which  grew  along  the  timber 
lines  late  in  the  season  and  eaten  by  the  cattle. 
Many  experiments  made  by  the  early  settlers  lead 


THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  103 

to  this  conclusion,  but  it  remains  a  theory  only,  as 
the  particular  plant  has  never  been  identified. 
Happily  for  the  community's  health  and  welfare, 
it  has  long  since  disappeared. 

Natural  Attractions 

The  new  country  was  not  without  its  attrac- 
tions. The  forest  abounded  with  wild  animals, 
such  as  opossums,  raccoons,  rabbits,  squirrels, 
mink,  muskrats  and  skunks,  sometimes  politely 
called  timber  pussies;  while  the  Iroquois  river 
yielded  a  plentiful  supply  of  fish.  The  prairies 
swarmed  with  wild  chickens,  ducks,  geese,  quail, 
also  foxes,  wolves  and  deer.  Hunting  was  not 
only  a  universal  sport,  but  an  ample  and  never- 
failing  means  of  supplying  the  family  with  the 
choicest  wild  game.  The  early  settler  was  a  crack 
shot  and  seldom  failed  in  his  aim  when  his  quarry 
came  within  range  of  his  crude  weapon.  Wild 
fowl  was  so  tame  and  plentiful  that  within  an 
hour's  time  he  could  bag  all  he  wanted  to  supply 
his  present  needs,  and  at  no  great  distance  from 
his  own  door.  When  in  search  of  larger  game, 
such  as  deer,  men  would  go  out  in  small  parties 
in  wagons  and  return  well  loaded.  The  fox  and 
wolf  chase  was  a  popular  diversion,  so  was  'coon 
hunting,  The  young  men  found  an  exciting  time 


104  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

in  prowling  the  dense  forest  at  night  hunting  the 
opossum  and  raccoon.  Their  dogs  were  trained 
to  trail  the  fleeing  animal  and  bring  him  to  bay, 
generally  up  the  tallest  tree.  The  hunter  would 
then  build  a  fire  under  the  tree,  by  the  flare  of 
which  he  was  able  to  take  unerring  aim  with  his 
rifle.  With  the  advance  of  population,  however, 
wild  game  became  more  and  more  scarce,  until 
in  the  60's,  when  hunting  as  a  source  of  food 
supply  was  discontinued. 

Barn  Dance 

The  barn  dance  was  also  a  popular  recreation 
among  the  young  people.  They  would  assemble 
from  long  distances  at  some  house  or  barn,  com- 
ing on  horse  back,  on  sleds  or  wagons,  as  would 
best  suit  their  fancy  or  the  roads  and  season.  The 
country  fiddler  was  in  great  demand  and  was 
valued  more  for  his  physical  endurance  than  for 
his  art.  These  dances  were  generally  free-for-all 
affairs,  and  were  usually  continued  through  the 
night.  The  prevailing  spirit  on  these  occasions 
was,  "Let  joy  be  unconfined  when  youth  and 
beauty  meet  to  chase  the  hours  with  flying  feet." 
They  were  conducted  with  little  or  no  reference  to 

•/ 

gracefulness  or  rhythm  of  motion.  The  idea 
seemed  to  prevail  that  they  afforded  the  most  ap- 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  105 

propriate  occasion  to  discharge  a  surplus  stock  of 
pent-up  energy,  and  the  young  man  who  could 
kick  the  highest  or  stamp  the  floor  with  the  great- 
est violence  was  the  most  admired  by  the  ladies 
and  the  most  envied  by  the  men  less  efficient  in 
the  art. 

Spelling  Schools 

The  old-fashioned  spelling  school  was  also  one 
of  the  early  attractions.  This  had  its  educational 
value  as  well  as  its  social  features.  On  these  occa- 
sions two  leaders  were  selected,  usually  from  the 
best  known  spellers,  who  would  take  their  places 
on  either  side  of  the  building  and  alternately 
choose  from  those  present  until  all  were  taken. 
As  fast  as  chosen  the  participants  would  take 
their  respective  places  along  the  wall  on  the  side 
of  their  leader,  where  they  would  remain  stand- 
ing. The  spelling  book  and  the  pronouncer 
having  been  selected,  the  exciting  program  of  the 
evening  would  begin.  The  words  would  be  an- 
nounced in  a  loud  clear  tone  of  voice  back  and 
forth  from  one  side  of  the  room  to  the  other,  so 
that  one  side  would  be  spelling  against  the  other. 
Each  participant  was  permitted  to  remain  in  line 
until  he  misspelled  a  word,  when  he  would  resume 
his  seat.  The  last  person  to  remain  standing  and 


106  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

the  side  which  he  represented  were  awarded  the 
honors  of  the  contest — an  honor  that  was  cher- 
ished with  an  unconcealed  feeling  of  pride. 

Worthy  Citizenship 

The  hardships  and  privations  and  sacrifices  in- 
cident to  Concord  township  in  its  early  history 
had  their  greatest  value  in  the  building  up  of  a 
citizenship  of  sterling  worth  and  persevering  de- 
votion, men  of  strong  minds,  of-  stout  hearts  and 
of  husky,  healthy  bodies.  The  early  settlers 
knew  little  of  life's  comforts  or  ease.  They  were 
home  builders  and  community  builders.  The 
word  failure  had  no  place  in  their  vocabulary. 
They  were  dedicated  to  the  purpose  of  establish- 
ing homes  and  estates  for  their  families.  They 
were  willing  to  make  any  sacrifice  that  posterity 
might  be  enriched.  Their  clothing  and  home  com- 
forts were  the  most  scant,  and  yet  they  worked 
and  toiled  early  and  late  and  were  content  and 
happy.  Their  environment  developed  in  them  a 
sentiment  of  comradeship,  of  fraternity,  of  broth- 
erly love,  which  made  each  one  feel  that  he  lived 
in  God's  country  and  among  God's  people.  If 
one  fell  sick  his  neighbors  were  on  hand  uninvited 
to  carry  on  his  farm  work.  In  the  harvest  season 
they  cut  his  grain  or  husked  out  his  corn.  If  in 


'THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  107 

winter  they  chopped  and  hauled  his  wood  to  his 
home.  If  the  housewife  became  ill  the  women 
would  gather  and  serve  as  nurses  and  housekeep- 
ers until  her  recovery.  In  the  event  of  death,  the 
neighbors  assembled  not  only  in  sympathy  to  pay 
their  last  respects  but  to  attend  to  every  detail  of 
the  funeral  and  without  charge.  They  kept  no 
books  on  their  neighbors,  either  financially  or  so- 
cially. It  was  a  free  exchange  of  help  with  no 
accounting  of  balances. 

Such  was  the  character  of  the  early  settlers  of 
Concord  township-  -the  Hoaglands,  the  Frys,  the 
Hogles,  the  Gaffields,  the  Pineos,  the  Carpenters, 
the  Stricklers,  the  Willards,  the  Coughenours, 
the  Gasses,  the  Browns,  the  Fultons,  the  Dorans, 
the  Boones,  the  Youngs,  the  Warricks,  the  Court- 
rights,  the  Frounfelters,  the  Whitemans,  Kings, 
Smiths,  Fowlers,  Lymans,  Ayers,  Manters, 
Nobles,  Peters,  Noskers,  Ketchems,  Shermans, 
Barrys,  Browns,  Blades,  Bennetts,  Chamber- 
lains, Lawrences,  Scritchfields,  Shepherds,  Gil- 
berts, Ades,  Markleys,  Karrs,  Hanans,  East- 
burns,  Enslins,  Caldwells,  Croziers,  Dunnings, 
Shermans,  Donovans,  Fowlers,  Whites,  Willises, 
Hutzlers,  Burroughs,  Hollinsworths,  Thomases, 
Kanes,  Clarkes,  Shrums,  Lamberts,  Richies, 
Pratts,  Covins,  Phelps,  Websters,  Growls, 


108  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

Goozys,  Caldowells  and  others.  It  is  true  that  a 
few  were  slackers  and  fell  by  the  wayside,  but  a 
great  majority  had  willing  hands  and  constructive 
minds,  and  when  opportunity  knocked  at  their 
door  they  opened  and  welcomed. 

Opportunity 

"Master  of  human  destinies  am  I ; 

Fame,  love  and  fortune  on  my  footsteps  wait. 

Cities  and  fields  I  walk;  I  penetrate 

Deserts  and  seas  remote,  and  passing  by 

Hovel  and  mart  and  palace — soon  or  late — 

I  knock  unbidden,  once  at  every  gate: 

If  sleeping,  wake — if  feasting,  rise  before 

I  turn  away — it  is  the  hour  of  fate, 

And  those  who  follow  me  reach  every  state 

Mortals  desire,  and  conquer  every  foe 

Save  death;  but  those  who  doubt  or  hesitate, 

Condemned  to  failure,  penury  and  woe, 

Seek  me  in  vain  and  uselessly  implore. 

I  answer  not,  and  I  return  no  more." 

— John  J.  Ingalls. 

Early  Schools 

The  early  settler  was  prompt  to  recognize  the 
value  of  education.  He  believed  that  all  the  chil- 
dren alike,  and  not  a  favored  few  of  them,  should 
be  taught  the  rudiments  of  a  common  school  edu- 
cation. His  ideas  were  somewhat  crude,  but  dem- 
ocratic and  practicable.  His  ideal  was  compre- 
hended by  the  three  "R's,"  "redin',  'ritin',  'rith- 


'THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  109 

metic."  To  venture  beyond  these  elements  was 
liable  to  be  more  harmful  than  beneficial  to  the 
boy  or  girl.  To  carry  out  this  idea  public  schools 
were  established  in  the  township  as  the  population 
would  warrant.  Accordingly,  as  early  as  1835, 
and  within  three  years  after  the  first  permanent 
settlements  were  made,  the  first  public  school  was 
started  and  "kept"  in  a  log  cabin  on  the  hill  on 
the  north  side  of  the  river  in  a  settlement  then 
known  as  Bunkum.  The  statement  has  been 
handed  down  by  the  old  settlers  that  the  first  two 
schoolmasters  to  preside  in  this  primitive  seat  of 
learning  were  Hugh  Newell  and  Benjamin  Scott. 
The  latter  was  also  the  first  school  treasurer  and 
the  second  sheriff  of  the  county.  In  1840  the 
first  school  house  was  built  in  Concord  township. 
It  was  located  on  the  same  hill  and  about  the 
same  spot.  Later  this  was  superseded  by  a  more 
capacious  structure  which  was  found  necessary  to 
accommodate  the  larger  enrollment  of  pupils. 
The  school  district  at  that  time  included  prac- 
tically the  whole  township,  and  in  bleak  winter 
the  boys  and  girls,  in  defiance  of  sleet  and  bliz- 
zard and  snow,  would  trudge  their  weary  way  for 
two  or  three  miles  and  with  ruddy  cheeks  and 
smiling  faces  and  dinner  pails,  enter  the  little 
school  house,  ready  for  the  day's  lessons.  This 


110  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

building  served  the  combined 'purpose  of  school 
house  and  church  until  1875,  when  it  was  removed 
and  a  two-story  brick  was  erected  in  its  place. 
Again  in  1900,  this  building  being  pronounced 
unsafe  and  inadequate,  a  four-room  frame  school 
house  was  built  on  the  north  side  of  the  village 
of  Iroquois. 

As  the  population  continued  to  increase,  new 
districts  were  formed  and  new  school  houses  were 
built,  first  along  the  timber  lines,  because  the 
early  settlements  were  made  near  the  timber  belt. 
As  the  settlements  in  time  pushed  out  into  the 
open  prairie,  the  school  houses  followed,  until  in 
the  early  50 's,  when  the  entire  township  was  com- 
pletely organized  into  eight  school  districts,  gen- 
erally of  four  sections  each,  and  a  corresponding 
number  of  school  buildings  were  erected  and  as 
many  schools  maintained. 

School  Houses 

These  school  houses  were  small  and  were  con- 
structed on  the  same  general  plan.  They  were 
frame  buildings  and  the  material  in  them  was 
made  from  the  trees  felled  in  the  near-by  forest, 
and  were  worked  into  lumber  by  hand.  The 
plank  floors,  the  clapboard  roofs,  the  hewn  siding, 
worked  to  bevel  with  an  adz,  the  doors  and  win- 


THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  111 


dows  and  the  frame,  were  all  the  workmanship  of 
the  local  carpenter.  The  ventilation  was  not  only 
ample  but  unavoidable.  The  furniture  within 
corresponded  in  roughness  with  the  building  itself. 

A  large  box  stove  adorned  the  center  of  the 
room,  around  which  the  children  huddled  in  win- 
ter with  the  idea  of  keeping  warm.  On  a  very 
cold  day  they  were  liable  to  freeze  and  roast  at 
the  same  time  according  to  the  part  of  the  body 
facing  the  stove.  To  obviate  this  discomfort  they 
would  shift  their  positions  at  frequent  intervals 
until  the  whole  body  became  warm.  These  stoves 
had  a  ravenous  appetite  for  wood,  which  was  out 
of  all  proportion  to  the  amount  of  heat  they  would 
radiate.  This  difficulty  was  overcome  by  the  will- 
ingness of  the  large  boys  to  take  turns  in  chop- 
ping the  ricks  of  cord  wood  on  the  outside  into 
suitable  lengths.  This  supply  of  fuel  had  been 
chopped  and  hauled  by  the  patrons  of  the  school. 

The  seats  consisted  of  long  benches  made  of 
slabs.  A  slab  in  this  connection  means  the  first 
slice  from  a  log.  The  only  tools  necessarily  used 
in  the  manufacture  of  this  important  article  of 
furniture  were  an  auger  and  an  ax.  The  pioneer 
was  expert  in  the  use  of  both.  The  operation  was 
not  complicated.  Four  holes  bored  into  the  slab 
at  the  corners  and  four  wooden  pins  of  even 


112  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

lengths  driven  into  them  tightly  and  the  finished 
product  was  ready  for  installment.  In  rare  cases, 
however,  when  an  extra  fine  job  was  demanded, 
the  adz  was  used  to  give  the  finishing  touches. 

These  benches  were  arranged  in  long  rows, 
leaving  a  narrow  aisle  along  the  wall  on  either 
side  of  the  building;  in  some  cases  a  center  aisle 
was  also  provided.  The  back  row  was  generally 
against  the  rear  wall,  which  afforded  the  advan- 
tage of  a  back  rest.  A  sloping  board  was  pinned 
securely  against  the  wall  to  accommodate  the 
class  in  writing.  These  benches  were  all  made 
the  same  height  to  accommodate  grown-up  people. 
The  idea  that  the  seat  should  be  made  to  fit  the 
pupil  instead  of  the  pupil  distorting  his  body  to 
fit  the  seat  was  not  adopted  until  some  years  later. 
Then,  too,  these  school  houses  were  used  for  all 
sorts  of  public  meetings,  such  as  debating  socie- 
ties, spelling  schools,  voting  precincts,  religious 
services,  and  political  gatherings.  The  master's 
desk  was  constructed  of  rough  boards  and  resem- 
bled a  large  store  box.  There  were  no  black- 
boards, no  maps  nor  charts  nor  any  of  the  modern 
aids  now  familiar  to  every  school  child,  and  con-, 
sidered  indispensable  equipment  to  the  school 
room. 

The  school  yard  was  generally  small  and  not 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY 


considered  worthy  of  attention.  No  effort  was 
made  to  beautify  or  adorn  with  trees  or  flowers. 
If  perchance  a  stately  oak  which  had  escaped  the 
woodman's  ax  spread  its  shady  branches  near  by, 
it  was  permitted  to  remain.  But  in  the  prairie 
districts,  where  nature  had  not  been  so  lavish  with 
her  decorations,  the  building  often  stood  on  a  des- 
olate spot,  exposed  to  the  piercing  winds  of  win- 
ter and  the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun  in  summer. 
There  was  no  thought  of  making  the  school  room 
and  its  surroundings  attractive  and  inviting  to 
the  child.  Its  esthetic  taste  was  ignored.  The 
playground  was  also  left  entirely  to  chance.  The 
children's  games  in  those  days  were  few  and  sim- 
ple- -black  man,  bear,  hide  and  seek,  town  ball, 
old  cat  and  a  few  more  comprised  the  list.  There 
was  no  supervision  of  the  children  at  play,  except 
in  case  of  an  accident  or  fight,  when  the  master 
would  show  his  hand.  In  fact,  it  was  not  thought 
that  play  was  an  important  part  of  the  child's 
school  life.  The  school  year  was  limited  to  three 
or  four  months  in  winter  and  would  begin  right 
after  corn  "shuckinV  In  later  years  a  summer 
term  of  several  months  became  the  custom. 


114  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

The  School  Master 

The  school  master  represented  a  distinct  type 
of  the  early  settler.  He  was  generally  a  man  of 
dignified  bearing  and  self-conscious  of  his  own 
importance.  Although  possessing  limited  knowl- 
edge and  no  professional  training,  he  was  re- 
garded as  the  common  reservoir  from  whom  the 
people  drew  when  in  need  of  advice  or  informa- 
tion— the  clearing  house  of  all  knowledge  in  the 
community.  Naturally  and  necessarily,  he  was 
careful  and  diplomatic  in  maintaining  this  repu- 
tation of  a  walking  cyclopedia.  While  active, 
and  a  recognized  leader  in  the  affairs  of  the  com- 
munity, he  was  reserved  in  all  matters  liable  to 
lessen  his  influence  or  expose  his  deficiency.  Little 
was  required  of  him  in  the  school  room  and-  little 
was  given.  He  was  valued  more  for  his  ability  to 
'keep  order,"  and  this  was  often  measured  by 
the  frequency  and  severity  with  which  he  flogged 
the  big  boys  in  school.  If  he  could  read  aloud, 
show  the  pupils  how  to  form  letters  with  a  pen, 
pronounce  the  words  in  the  spelling-book,  never 
fail  to  do  the  sums  when  referred  to  him,  and 
occasionally  carry  away  the  honors~at  a  neigh- 
boring spelling  school,  he  possessed  all  the  quali- 
fications that  should  be  required  of  him.  His 
art  or  method  in  teaching,  his  ability  in  training 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  115 

the  child-mind  were  not  taken  into  consideration 
as  an  important  factor.  Yet  he  was  a  man  of 
good  moral  character  and  manifested  a  pride  in 
the  dignity  of  his  calling.  He  lived  up  to  his 
highest  ideal  in  'keeping  school."  In  a  few  in- 
stances he  was  a  college  graduate  and  was  lavish 
in  his  use  of  Greek  and  Latin  phrases.  He 
boarded  around  among  his  patrons  and  was  sat- 
isfied both  with  his  board  and  his  very  meager 
salary. 

Methods  in  Teaching 

The  early  school  master  had  no  definite  idea  of 
methods.  He  was  given  no  normal  training.  He 
knew  nothing  of  psychology,  nothing  of  the  law 
that  governs  the  unfolding  of  the  child-mind.  In 
consequence  the  child  received  very  little  benefit 
from  its  first  few  years'  attendance  at  school.  It 
was  never  questioned  that  what  the  master  knew 
he  was  able  to  teach.  If  he  could  read,  he  could 
teach  reading;  if  he  could  cipher,  he  could  teach 
arithmetic  to  the  child.  Every  subject  was  pre- 
sented in  an  arbitrary  way  with  no  thought  con- 
nection. His  entire  method  was  based  upon  the 
idea  that  the  child  cannot  think  and  that  it  must 
learn  the  arbitrary  forms  first,  independent  of 
any  thought  relation.  Accordingly,  it  was  taught 


116  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

the  alphabet,  to  recognize  and  pronounce  the  let- 
ters one  by  one ;  in  arithmetic,  to  sing  the  multi- 
plication table ;  in  language  to  commit  to  memory 
the  names  of  the  parts  of  speech  and  the  defini- 
tions and  rules  of  syntax ;  in  spelling  and  reading, 
to  pronounce  the  words  aloud,  with  no  reference 
to  associated  thought  or  practice.  An  appeal  was 
made  to  the  child's  memory  to  retain  arbitrary 
characters  and  meaningless  definitions,  permit- 
ting the  imagination  and  understanding  to  remain 
dormant. 

Even  the  text-books  were  arranged  upon  this 
error.  There  were  no  graded  school  libraries,  no 
child  literature,  appealing  to  the  child's  imagi- 
nation or  understanding ;  no  language  lessons,  the 
primary  grammars  being  made  up  of  rules  and 
definitions,  while  the  spelling  books  presented  the 
words  in  long  columns  according  to  the  number  of 
syllables  with  no  reference  to  their  future  use  or 

»/ 

meaning.  The  arithmetics  were  made  up  largely 
of  long  and  involved  rules  and  obsolete  tables, 
which  the  older  pupils  were  compelled  to  memo- 
rize and  which  were  soon  forgotten  and  seldom 
applied. 

The  opening  day  of  school  at  the  beginning  of 
the  term  was  usually  a  notable  event  for  the  chil- 
dren of  the  district,  which  was  evidenced  bv  a 

•/ 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  117 

full  attendance.  The  smaller  children  were  eager 
to  get  a  peep  at  the  new  school  master,  and  the 
larger  boys  were  on  hand  to  get  his  number  and 
to  lay  their  plans  for  his  dethronement  later  in 
the  term.  The  master  generally  began  his  day's 
program  by  presenting  a  long  list  of  rules  for 
the  government  of  the  school  during  the  term. 
With  a  stern  countenance  he  would  read  these 
rules  aloud,  placing  special  emphasis  here  and 
there  at  points  where  infractions  were  most  liable 
to  occur.  These  rules  were  often  negative  in 
form  and  suggested  to  the  pupil  new  and  untried 
fields  for  mischief  which  without  this  suggestion 
might  have  escaped  his  attention.  In  some  in- 
stances the  pupil  was  required  to  memorize  this 
code  and  to  co-operate  in  its  enforcement  by  keep- 
ing books  on  the  conduct  of  the  other  children  and 
report  to  the  master  any  infractions  that  he  was 
able  to  discover.  This  method  of  espionage  some- 
times led  to  feuds  among  the  boys,  who  nursed 
their  grievances  for  many  years  afterwards. 

Corporal  punishment  was  recognized  as  the 
most  dependable  means  to  insure  obedience  and 
stimulate  a  healthy  and  sustaining  interest  in  the 
lessons.  This  conviction  was  so  universal  and  so 
well  established  that  even  the  pupils  regarded  it 
as  an  indispensable  part  of  the  daily  program. 


118  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

It  was  not  the  last  resort,  but  oftener  the  first. 
A  quiver  of  hickory  or  willow  withes  was  kept  in 
full  view  as  a  constant  reminder  to  the  refractory 
pupil.  These  withes  were  called  into  use  upon 
slight  provocation  and  their  application  to  the 
pupil's  body  was  not  a  mere  form  but  a  vigorous 
and  painful  operation. 

• 

Results 

» 

It  must  not  be  inferred  that  these  early  schools 
were  a  failure.  On  the  contrary  they  were  a  sue- 

«/  V 

cess  because  they  accomplished  the  purpose  for 
which  they  were  maintained.  They  gave  the  chil- 
dren a  working  knowledge  of  the  rudiments.  The 
child  learned  to  read  and  write  and  spell  and 
enough  mathematics  for  all  ordinary  business 
transactions.  He  also  learned  the  important  les- 
sons of  obedience  and  patriotism.  Out  of  these 
schools  came  desirable  citizens  and  neighbors; 
men  and  women  who  became  capable  and  trust- 
worthy in  public  affairs  and  successful  in  business 
activities. 

It  is  true  that  great  advancement  has  been 
made  in  the  schools  since  this  early  period.  Bet- 
ter school  houses  have  been  built,  comfortable 
and  elegant  furniture  has  been  installed,  valuable 
and  useful  apparatus  has  been  added,  school 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  119 

libraries  and  better  text-books  have  been  adopted, 
normal  schools  have  sprung  up  everywhere  and 
technically  trained  teachers  with  certificates  of 

»/ 

qualification  are  employed;  the  school  year  has 
been  trebled,  with  the  school  taxes  more  than 
quadrupled,  and  yet  the  little  old  school  houses 
that  dotted  the  prairies  of  Concord  township  over 
a  half  century  ago  were  the  compelling  influence 
that  molded  the  civilization  of  this  centennial 
year.  It  had  its  mission  and  it  performed  it 
faithfully  and  well. 

Religion 

Religion  was  a  matter  of  the  first  concern  with 
the  early  settler.  This  sentiment  found  expres- 
sion at  the  very  beginning  of  the  new  settlement. 
At  first  the  people  congregated  in  their  log  cabins 
to  worship.  In  the  summer  season  the  shady 
groves  in  which  the  community  abounded  were 
found  desirable  for1  the  purpose  of  holding  relig- 
ious services.  The  basket  meeting  and  the  camp 
meeting  were  in  great  favor.  The  program  was 
usually  made  up  of  four  parts — singing  of 
hymns,  the  season  of  prayer,  the  testimony  and 
the  sermon.  The  entire  congregation  was  the 
choir.  The  prevailing  denominations  in  the  new 
country  were  the  Methodist,  the  Baptist  and  the 


120  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

United  Brethren.  These  appealed  more  to  the 
emotional  nature,  which  was  one  reason  for  their 
greater  popularity.  In  the  township  the  Meth- 
odist at  first  was  perhaps  the  most  active  because 
their  method  of  propaganda  was  better  adapted 
to  the  new  country.  In  the  absence  of  close  or- 
ganizations denominational  lines  were  not  so 
strictly  drawn.  The  new  settler  was  not  so  par- 
ticular about  the  name  or  even  the  doctrine,  so 
long  aiL  be  got  the  experience  and  was  permitted 
to  speak  of  the  faith  within  him.  When  the  school 
house  arrived  on  the  scene,  it  was  used  for  both 
church  and  school  purposes,  and  was  free  alike 
to  all  denominations  and  to  all  preachers  who  hap- 
pened along.  The  early  circuits  necessarily  cov- 
ered a  large  territory  and  the  preacher's  appoint- 
ments were  far  between  and  sometimes  uncertain ; 
his  visits,  however,  were  appreciated  all  the  more 
and  his  message  received  with  greater  interest. 
The  people  assembled  from  far  and  near,  coming 
on  horse  back  or  in  lumber  wagons,  bringing  their 
entire  families.  These  gatherings  lasted  the  en- 
tire day  and  well  filled  lunch  baskets  were  pro- 
vided for  all  who  came.  New  Year's  Eve  was 
always  celebrated  by  religious  services,  "to  watch 
the  old  year  out  and  the  new  year  in."  This 
service  continued  from  early  evening  until  after 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  121 

midnight.  More  than  one  sermon  was  usually 
delivered  on  this  occasion  and  some  time  by  the 
same  preacher.  The  camp  meeting  and  the  basket 
meeting  were  always  held  out  of  doors,  and  the 
former  continued  for  two  or  three  weeks.  The 
attendants  from  a  distance  slept  in  their  wagons 
or  tents  at  night  and  were  supplied  with  abun- 
dant ration.  The  big  meeting  of  the  early  period 
was  the  religious  revival  which  was  held  in  the 
winter  season  in  some  convenient  school  house. 
The  term  was  decidedly  indefinite  and  often  lasted 
until  spring  work  beckoned  the  farmer  home. 
These  special  midwinter  meetings  had  a  two-fold 
purpose- -the  conversion  of  the  sinner  and  the 
advancement  of  the  righteous  to  a  higher  Chris- 
tian experience.  Preparation  was  made  in  ad- 
vance for  the  success  of  these  meetings.  The 
preacher  exhorted  his  flock  to  pray  fervently  for 
a  Pentecostal  downpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
and  the  conversion  of  sinners.  The  regular  ser- 
mon was  followed  by  a  lengthy  exhortation  and 
invitation  to  the  sinner  to  'Flee  the  wrath  to 
come."  This  warning  was  pressed  with  the  great- 
est earnestness  and  insistence  and  the  preacher's 
voice  could  be  distinctly  heard  above  the  chorus 

•/ 

of  the  congregational  singing.  As  the  people 
gathered  for  the  service  the  men  and  boys  took 


122 


A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 


their  seats  on  one  side  of  the  room  and  the  women 
and  girls  on  the  other.  This  rule  was  carefully 
observed.  As  all  the  men  attended  church  as  well 
as  the  women,  equal  space  was  allotted  to  each. 


Mrs.    15enj.    Ely,   many   years   a    resident   of   Iroquois.      Seventy-live   years   a 

member  of  the  Methodist  Church. 

A  long  bench  was  reserved  near  the  pulpit  for 
the  mourners;  this  was  called  the  mourners' 
bench.  The  bench  at  the  extreme  rear  of  the 
room  was  recognized  as  the  seat  of  the  scornful. 
As  the  meetings  advanced  and  the  interest  grew, 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  123 

it  was  not  uncommon  for  both  these  benches  to  be 
occupied,  the  one  by  those  first  brought  under 
the  influence  of  the  Gospel  message,  the  other  by 
those  who  came  to  scoff.  But  as  the  meetings 
continued  and  the  message  became  more  and  more 
irresistible,  the  seat  of  the  scornful  melted  away 
under  its  influence,  its  occupants  one  by  one  tak- 
ing their  places  at  the  mourners'  bench,  groaning 
aloud  under  their  conviction  of  sin  and  praying 
for  mercy  and  forgiveness.  The  religious  fervor 
which  pervaded  the  early  day  revival  was  intense. 
Men  and  women  sang  and  shouted  in  ecstasy  of 
joy  until  they  fell  prostrate  to  the  floor  from 
exhaustion,  where  they  remained  in  a  semi-con- 
scious state  until  assisted  to  their  feet  by  some 
devout  but  less  emotional  brother  or  sister.  This 
revival  wave  often  spread  from  one  center  of 
population  to  another,  until  it  gathered  under  its 
influence  the  people  of  a  wide  area  of  territory. 

• 

Early  Churches 

It  is  claimed  that  Rev.  S.  R.  Beggs  was  the 
first  to  preach  in  Concord  township  in  the  year 
1832.  In  1833  the  first  Methodist  circuit  was 
established,  which  embraced  the  territory  from 
Spring  Creek  to  Rensselaer,  and  from  the  Wa- 
bash  river  to  the  Kankakee.  The  first  pastor 


124  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

assigned  to  this  circuit  was  Rev.  Essex,  who  held 
a  series  of  meetings  the  same  year  at  the  home  of 
Benjamin  Fry,  one  mile  east  of  Iroquois,  who  has 
been  mentioned  as  the  first  permanent  settler  of 
the  township.  This  was  perhaps  the  first  Meth- 
odist revival  meeting  held  in  the  county.  The 
following  year  Rev.  Springer  was  assigned  the 
same  circuit  and  organized  the  first  church  so- 
ciety in  the  township.  This  society  grew  from 
the  smallest  beginning,  Benjamin  Fry  being  one 
of  its  active  members  from  the  first.  It  met  regu- 
larly at  the  Liberty  school  house,  and  finally,  in 
1872,  erected  a  church  just  east  of  the  township 
line  and  named  it  Morris  Chapel.  In  1850  a 
United  Brethren  society  was  formed  in  the  Enslen 
school  house  south  of  the  river  by  the  Rev.  Jacob 
Kenoyer,  who  preached  many  times  in  the  town- 
ship. In  1854  the  second  Methodist  society  was 
organized  in  the  township,  which  held  regular 
meetings  in  the  frame  school  house  in  Iroquois. 
This  society  also  prospered  and  in  1875  erected 
a  church  edifice  in  the  village  under  the  pastorate 
of  Rev.  Calhoun.  In  1870,  Samuel  Warrick  and 
William  Brown  were  the  promoters  in  the  build- 
ing of  a  church  near  the  west  line  of  the  town- 
ship, which  was  named  Prairie  Delle.  The  Chris- 
tian denomination  began  active  work  much  later 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  125 

in  the  township.  Irregular  meetings  were  held 
in  Iroquois  as  early  as  1880.  Rev.  Hollo  way  of 
Morocco  made  frequent  visits,  preaching  to  the 
people  and  baptizing  the  new  converts.  These 
baptismal  ceremonies  were  conducted  at  the  Iro- 
quois river  near  the  wagon  bridge  and  were  usu- 
ally the  occasion  of  a  large  gathering.  This  so- 
ciety was  active  and  aggressive  and  in  1895,  under 
the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Crank,  erected  a  brick 
church  in  Iroquois. 

Pioneer  Preachers 

The  pioneer  preacher  will  long  be  remembered 
and  revered  for  his  manly  qualities  and  moral 
courage  as  well  as  for  his  physical  endurance. 
His  scholastic  attainments  were  no  measure  of 
his  wonderful  power  over  men  for  their  better- 
ment. He  relied  on  God  and  his  own  powerful 
voice,  developed  by  long  outdoor  practice,  for  his 
success.  It  is  said  that  even  in  secret  prayer  he 
could  be  heard  a  mile.  His  worldly  belongings 
were  few  and  scant,  and  even  his  library  was  in 

•/ 

some  instances  limited  to  a  hvmn  book  and  a  well 

«/ 

thumbed  pocket  bible.  In  some  instances  his  early 
education  had  been  so  neglected  that  he  could 
barely  read  and  write,  yet  he  was  strong  in  the 
faith  and  positive  of  his  message.  His  theology 


126  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

sometimes  crude  and  his  language  defiant  of  the 
rules  of  syntax,  he  had  the  courage  of  his  convic- 
tions and  he  shot  his  Gospel  message  straight 
home  to  the  heart  of  the  trembling  sinner.  He 
sometimes  lost  his  text,  but  of tener  he  never  found 
it.  He  had  no  fear  of  losing  his  stipend  on  ac- 
count of  his  plain,  direct  preaching,  because  he 
received  none  worthy  of  mention.  He  rode  on 
horse  back  through  swamps  and  forded  rivers  in 
rain  and  storm  and  blizzard  to  fill  distant  ap- 
pointments, without  even  a  thought  of  salary. 
Free  from  mercenary  motive  or  worldly  ambi- 
tion, he  gave  his  full  measure  of  service  cheerfully 
for  the  cause.  He  was  a  recognized  moral  force 
in  the  community  and  his  influence  upon  the  fam- 
ily was  wholesome  and  uplifting.  By  his  self- 
sacrifice  and  devotion,  as  well  as  by  his  preaching 
he  stamped  the  verities  of  the  Christian  religion 
indelibly  upon  his  own  and  future  generations. 
Like  the  pioneer  school  master,  he  has  performed 
his  mission  and  has  passed  into  history,  but  his 
influence  still  lives. 


"As  some  tall  cliff  that  lifts  its  awful  form, 
Swells  from  the  vale  and  midway  cleaves  the  storm., 
So  round  its  breast  the  rolling  clouds  are  spread, 
Eternal  sunshine  settles  on  his  head.' 


****** 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  127 

"At  church,  with  meek  and  unaffected  grace, 
His  looks  adorned  the  venerable  place, 
Truth  from  his  lips  prevailed  with  double  sway, 
And  fools  who  came  to  scoff  remained  to  pray." 

The  Civil  War 

In  1861,  when  the  ominous  clouds  of  secession 
darkened  our  fair  land  and  threatened  the  very 
existence  of  the  Union,  the  young  men  of  Con- 
cord township  responded  to  the  call  to  arms,  ready 
and  willing  to  make  the  supreme  sacrifice  in  de- 
fense of  the  flag  and  the  institutions  which  they 
had  been  taught  to  love  from  childhood.  At  that 
time  the  population  of  the  county  was  little  more 
than  twelve  thousand,  and  yet  her  enlistments  into 
the  army  and  navy  during  the  four  years  of  civil 
war  that  followed,  were  over  seventeen  hundred. 
Of  this  number,  more  than  three  hundred,  or 
twenty  per  cent,  were  killed  or  died  in  the  service. 
Concord  township  furnished  her  full  quota  of  as 
brave  young  men  as  ever  wore  uniform  or  died 
in  battle.  A  very  few  are  yet  living  of  those 
who  returned.  Below  are  given  the  names  of 
those  who  served  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  from 
this  township,  who  were  killed  in  action  or  died 
in  the  service: 

Wm.  R.  Fry,  died  at  Camp  Butler,  April  10,  1863. 
Mathew  Pineo,  died  at  Youngs  Point,  March  13,  1863. 
Cornelius  Morgan,  died  at  Youngs  Point,  April  5,  1862. 


128  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

£ 

Samuel  Morgan,  died  at  Memphis,  Nov.  26,  1864. 

Cyrus  Murray,  died  at  Memphis,  Dec.  7,  1862. 

Abraham  Markley,  died  at  Memphis,  Dec.  6,  1862. 

Riley  Lister,  died  at  Camp  Butler,  Oct.  28,.  1863. 

Clause  Halderman,  died  at  Camp  Hancock,  111.,  Oct.  19, 
1862. 

Henry  Fry,  died  at  Camp  Yates,  111.,  Jan.  13,  1864. 

Thomas  Carpenter,  died  at  Memphis,  Dec.  15,  1862. 

Harvey  Barr,  killed  at  Arkansas  Post,  Jan.  11,  1863. 

Benjamin  Appleget,  died  at  Corinth,  Miss.,  Aug.  17,  1863. 

J.  A.  Whiteman,  died  at  St.  Louis,  July  7,  1863. 

Isaac  M.  Caldwell,  died  at  Memphis,  May  4,  1863. 

Amos  W.  Markley,  killed  near  Jackson,  Miss.,  July  7, 
1864. 

Thomas  W.  Mantor,  died  at  Cairo,  Nov.  15,  1863. 

Samuel  Clemens,  died  at  Moscow,  Tenn.,  Feb.  2,  1863. 

Abel  Burroughs,  died  at  Vicksburg,  Aug.  22,  1864. 

Joseph  Eastburn,  died  at  Sheldon,  Dec.  9,  1864. 

James  H.  O'Brine,  died  at  Vicksburg,  Dec.  26,  1863. 

Joseph  Sherril,  killed  at  Resaco,  Ga.,  May  14,  1864. 

Isaac  Hoagland,  died  at  Smithton,  Mo.,  Jan.  3,  1862. 

William  Gilbert,  died  Nov..  11,  1861. 

Philander  Foster,  died  at  Tipton,  Mo.,  Dec.  25,  1861. 

Elisha  Karr,  killed  at  Drury's  Bluff,  Va.,  May  14,  1864. 

Calvin  Warrick,  died  at  Memphis,  Tenn. 

Of  all  those  who  enlisted  from  Concord,  only 
three  are  still  residing  in  the  township.  They  are 
Marion  Karr,  Abraham  Carpenter  and  Peter  B. 
S trickier.  John  B.  Salkeld  and  Theodore  Yates, 
residing  in  Iroquois,  are  veterans  of  the  Civil 
War,  but  are  not  credited  to  this  township. 


THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY 


129 


Change  in  Population 

Although  Concord  township  is  distinctly  a  rural 
community  in  which  changes  are  comparatively 
few  and  the  percentage  is  comparatively  large  of 


Abraham  Carpenter  of  Iroquois,  82  years  old.  One  of  the  five  remaining 
veterans  of  the  Civil  War  living  in  Concord  Township.  Co.  I,  113th  Illinois 
Infantry. 

those  who  own  and  occupy  their  own  homes,  it  is 
interesting  to  note  that  of  its  present  population 
of  something  over  one  thousand,  less  than  five 
per  cent  have  lived  in  the  township  for  a  period 
of  fifty  years.  Below  are  the  names  of  residents 


130 


A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 


at  this  date,  August,  1918,  who  have  resided  in 
the  township  for  half  a  century.  It  is  possible 
that  some  names  have  been  overlooked: 


Strickler,  Peter 
Fry,  Henry  S. 
Hook,  Robert 
Hook,  Mrs.  Ann 
Fires,  Mrs.  Mary 
Lambert,  James 
Frownfelter,  F.  W. 
Reese,  Henry 
Plummer,   Elizabeth 
Webster,  Wm.  A. 
Shepherd,   Cyrus 
Torbet,  Anvil 
Shrum,  Elias 
Christofferson,   Sarah 
Ely,  Miss  Lillie 
Whiteman,  H.  M. 
Whiteman,  A.  L. 
Whiteman,  Horace 
Frazier,  John 
Lambert,  Chas.  W. 
Clark,  Mrs.  May 
Karr,  Marion 
Peace,  S.  N. 


Eastburn,  Jesse  R.,  Jr. 
Shepherd,  Mrs.  Cyrus 
Appleget,  Sarah 
Shrum,  Mrs.  Elias 
Raymond,  Daniel 
Ely,  Salem 
Patterson,  Mrs.  Alice 
Maggs,  Catharine 
Hogle,   H.  S. 
Hogle,  Mrs.  H.  S. 
Nosker,  Mary  A. 
Stam,  Mrs.  Minnie 
Frazier,  Mrs.  Martha 
Lambert,  Truman 
Anderson,  Mrs.  Agnes 
Plummer,  Henry 
Murray,  Jacob  H. 
Coughenour,  Mrs.  Ellen 
Gilbert,  Leonard 
Clark,  Mrs.  Lovina 
Cross,  Mrs.  Mary 
Cross,  Mrs.  Florence 
Warrick,  Chas.  H. 


Period  of  Development 

The  third  period  in  the  history  of  the  township 
begins  about  1855  and  continues  down  to  the  pres- 
ent time.  This  period  is  remarkable  for  the  won- 
derful growth  and  development  that  have  been 
crowded  within  the  space  of  about  sixty  years. 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  131 

The  clouds  were  passing,  the  sky  was  clearing 
and  the  early  settler  began  to  see  over  the  top 
intb  the  promised  land.  A  number  of  causes 
have  contributed  to  the  wonderful  transforma- 
tion of  the  new  country  and  its  surprising  indus- 
trial development  during  this  period.  Grist  mills 
sprang  up  and  were  in  operation  at  different 
points.  One  was  located  at  Old  Texas,  near  the 
southwest  corner  of  the  township,  one  at  Old 
Middleport,  then  the  county  seat  of  Iroquois 

county,  one  at  Auroma  and  one  at  Brook,  Indi- 

«/  • 

ana.  These  mills  afforded  a  local  market  for  the 
farmer's  wheat  and  gave  him  the  opportunity  to 
receive  flour  in  exchange  by  paying  the  miller  a 
liberal  toll  for  his  grist.  These  mills  served  their 
purpose  for  the  time  and  were  a  great  benefit  to 
the  people  whom  they  served,  but  were  not  able 
long  to  withstand  the  competition  of  the  large 
power  mills  whose  product  the  railroads  brought 
to  the  local  markets. 

The  railroads  as  a  factor  in  building  up  the 
new  country  cannot  be  overestimated.  The  Illi- 
nois Central  was  completed  in  1856,  what  is  now 
the  Toledo,  Peoria  and  Western  in  1860,  and  the 
C.,  C.,  C.  &  St.  L.  (Big  Four)  in  1871.  These 
new  means  of  transportation  proved  a  great  boon 
to  the  farmers  of  the  township.  The  Illinois  Cen- 


132  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

tral  furnished  a  market  as  near  as  Kankakee,  the 
Toledo,  Peoria  &  Western,  within  one  mile  of  the 
south  line,  Sheldon,  and  the  Big  Four  established 
a  first  class  market  in  the  very  center  of  the  town- 
ship. The  farmer  was  no  longer  compelled  to 
drive  or  haul  his  live  stock  to  Chicago  or  some 
other  distant  point,  but  could  ship  his  grain,  his 
cattle  and  hogs  and  other  products  of  the  farm 
through  his  own  local  markets,  and  receive  in 
exchange  the  highest  current  prices.  The  com- 
modities that  he  needed  on  the  farm  and  in  the 
.home  were  shipped  in  and  kept  in  stock  for  his 
convenience.  What  before  required  weeks  to  ac- 
complish he  was  now  able  to  do  in  a  few  hours. 

The  people  had  already  seen  the  necessity  of 
public  improvements.  Taxes  were  levied  and  at- 
tention was  directed  to  the  building  of  bridges 
and  the  grading  and  improving  of  the  principal 
public  highways.  This  work  has  continued  with 
increasing  effort  and  expense  and  will  continue 
until  the  township  is  well  supplied  with  hard 
roads.  Local  saw-mills  were  installed  at  con- 
venient places  along  the  timber  belt,  and  the  giant 
oaks  which  had  defied  the  storms  of  the  ages, 
yielded  to  the  ax  and  the  cross-cut  saw,  and  the 
logs  were  converted  into  rough  lumber  for  build- 
ing purposes.  This  domestic  lumber  was  avail- 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  133 

able  for  every  part  of  the  frame  house  or  barn  or 
crib.  The  process  was  indeed  slow  and  tedious, 
but  the  carpenter  was  able  to  work  with  his  hand 
tools  the  rough  board  into  flooring,  siding,  shin- 
gles, finish  and  every  part  of  the  building.  This 
method  continued  until  the  big  mills  began  to 
supply  the  local  market  with  dressed  lumber  at  a 
lower  price  than  the  carpenter  could  make  it. 

The  railroads  brought  coal  from  the  mines  and 
supplied  the  local  markets  at  a  reasonable  price. 
This  solved  the  fuel  problem,  and  was  an  impor- 
tant factor  in  the  settlement  and  development  of 
the  prairie  districts.  The  early  prejudice  against 
the  prairie  soil  had  been  removed,  but  the  farmer 
still  dreaded  the  chopping  and  the  long  distance 
haul  of  wood  as  fuel,  and  the  long  stretch  of 
prairie  did  not  look  to  him  inviting.  He  was 
quick  to  see,  however,  that  the  use  of  coal  instead 
of  wood  materially  changed  the  situation.  As  a 
result  the  prairie  districts  were  rapidly  settled 
and  cultivated,  regardless  of  its  distance  from 
timber,  and  coal  has  been  used  as  fuel  almost  ex- 
clusively. It  was  found  also  that  the  prairie  soil 
was  as  rich  and  productive  as  the  land  adjoining 
the  timber.  In  time  the  sloughs  were  drained, 
buildings  and  fences  were  erected  and  well  im- 
proved farms  appeared  upon  what  was  supposed 


131  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

to  be  waste  land,  or  so  far  removed  that  it  would 
always  remain  worthless. 

Artificial  drainage  has  yielded  wonderful  re- 
sults in  the  development  of  the  country  and  the 
increasing  of  the  productive  power  of  the  soil. 
The  present  high  state  of  cultivation  would  have 
been  impossible  otherwise.  The  idea  was  at  first 
very  simple,  the  farmer  using  his  spade  to  make 
an  open  ditch,  so  that  the  water  might  escape 
from  the  low  places.  Then  as  the  idea  developed, 
laws  were  made  creating  and  controlling  drain- 
age districts  covering  large  areas  under  one  sys- 
tem. The  large  dredging-machine  came  in  re- 
sponse to  this  demand.  The  farmers  followed  the 
idea  by  tiling  their  farms  until  every  acre  is  avail- 
able for  cultivation.  The  work  of  clearing  up  the 
timber  land  is  still  going  on.  It  is  found  that 
this  land  is  fertile  and  is  well  adapted  to  all  kinds 
of  grain.  In  time~the  trees  and  stumps  will  dis- 
appear and  this  belt  lying  on  both  sides  of  the 
river,  which  in  an  early  day  was  supposed  to  have 
no  value  except  for  its  timber,  will  be  developed 
into  well  improved  farms. 

During  this  period  agricultural  colleges  and 
farm  journals  came  into  popular  recognition. 
Their  influence  stimulated  scientific  methods  of 
agriculture  and  stock  raising.  The  farmers  of 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  135 

Concord  were  not  slow  to  adopt  the  better  way. 
The  old  slip-shod  methods  were  laid  aside,  and 
doing  things  at  random  from  the  force  of  habit 
gradually  became  unpopular.  The  farmer 
learned  how  to  fertilize  and  prepare  the  soil,  how 
to  select  the  seed  and  to  plant  and  cultivate  the 
crop.  He  studied  the  nature  of  his  soil  and  the 
best  methods  of  rotation.  He  studied  how  to 
select  and  improve  the  breed  of  his  live  stock  in 
order  to  produce  the  largest  measure  of  beef  or 
pork  or  mutton  with  the  least  amount  of  grain 
consumed.  He  learned  the  art  of  conserving 
health  and  comfort  in  the  home.  Surface  wells 
with  their  disease  germs  were  discarded  and  arte- 
sian wells  came  into  general  use.  Screen  doors 
and  windows  became  a  necessity,  breeding  places 
for  flies  and  mosquitoes  about  the  premises  were 
removed.  These  sanitary  precautions  brought 
better  health  and  less  sickness  to  the  community. 
The  diseases  incident  to  the  new  countrv,  such  as 

•/  * 

ague,  chills,  malaria,  typhoid  and  milk-sickness, 
have  been  overcome  almost  entirely  by  eliminating 
the  causes. 

The  farmers  have  also  been  progressive  in  the 
use  of  improved  farm  machinery.  They  have 
discarded  the  old  and  adopted  the  new.  The 
latest  improved  separator,  the  harvester,  the  cul- 


136  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

tivator,  the  tractor — in  fact,  every  new  machine 
or  device  that  has  been  proven  a  success  in  labor 
saving  or  in  doing  better  work  has  been  welcomed 
and  put  into  service.  The  inventive  genius  of 
this  country  has  accomplished  great  things  for 
the  farmer.  Let  him  make  a  list  of  the  farm  tools 
which  have  been  discarded  during  the  last  fifty 
years,  and  another  list  of  those  which  he  has 
adopted  in  their  places  because  they  served  his 
purpose  better,  and  he  will  be  amazed  as  well  as 
grateful. 

The  farmer's  wife  has  also  shared  in  this  social 
and  economic  evolution.  Into  her  home  have 
come  one  by  one  modern  ideas  and  labor  saving 
equipment,  which  have  lifted  her  above  the  drudg- 
ery of  the  past  and  given  her  the  time  and  free- 
dom to  enjoy  life  and  exercise  her  social  and 
benevolent  nature.  It  is  true  that  in  many  in- 
stances she  has  been  compelled  to  wait  and  to 
continue  to  drudge  in  the  old  way  while  the  im- 
plement house  was  full  of  labor-saving  machinery 
for  the  field.  This  discrimination  is  rapidly  pass- 
ing. Her  vision  has  become  enlarged  and  her 
influence  through  social  organizations  and  at  the 
ballot  box  is  being  recognized. 

Concord  township  is  an  agricultural  and  stock- 
raising  community.  Other  lines  of  industry  have 


THE  IROQUOIS  COUNTRY 


137 


not  been  attempted  to  speak  of.  There  are  a  few 
instances  of  dairy-farming,  all  of  which  have  been 
successful.  Farming  has  been  confined  to  the 
staple  crops,  such  as  wheat,  corn  and  oats,  clover 
and  timothy.  The  farmers  have  been  conserva- 


R.  F.  Karr  of  Concord  Township.     Former  member  of  Board  of  Review  of 
Iroquois   County.      Secretary   of   Farmers'    Elevator. 

/ 

tive.  The  products  of  the  garden  and  the  orchard 
have  been  limited  to  the  needs  of  home  consump- 
tion, stock-raising  to  horses,  cattle  and  hogs. 
Sheep  have  been  found  to  be  profitable.  Yet  it 
is  known  that  the  soil  and  climate  are  well  adapted 


138  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

to  other  grains  which  would  prove  equally  remu- 
nerative. The  history  of  the  township  is  a  history 
of  its  farmers. 

The  result  is,  with  its  industrious  population, 
its  advanced  methods  of  farming,  of  drainage, 
the  use  of  modern  machinery,  its  advantages  of 
soil  and  climate,  Concord  township  has  been  de- 
veloped until  it  has  become  one  of  the  garden  spots 
of  the  earth — second  to  none,  in  a  county  which 
ranks  fourth  in  the  United  States.  It  has  before 
it  great  possibilities — no  one  can  measure  its  fu- 
ture. It  may  be  only  at  the  threshold  of  a  still 
greater  development.  It  has  been  proven  scien- 
tifically that  its  soil  will  admit  of  much  higher 
cultivation,  and  its  productive  capacity  of  a  cor- 
responding larger  yield.  With  its  present  popu- 
lation of  more  than  a  thousand  people  and  its 
one  hundred  and  forty  or  more  well  improved 
farms,  it  may  be  only  in  its  swaddling  clothes, 
and  its  full  grown  manhood  yet  to  come. 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY  139 

The  World  War 

Concord  township  has  always  responded 
promptly  to  its  country's  call.  In  the  very  begin- 
ning of  its  history,  when  the  population  embraced 
only  a  few  families  the  young  men  shouldered 
their  rifles  and  mounted  their  ponies  and  went 
forth  to  protect  their  homes  from  a  threatened 
attack  by  the  Indians.  Its  patriotism  was  again 
proven  in  the  Civil  War  when  it  contributed  its 
full  share  in  the  preservation  of  the  Union.  This 
Centennial  year  affords  another  example  of  the 
genuine  loyalty  of  its  citizenship,  who  are  con- 
tributing willingly  of  their  means  for  the  support 
of  the  government,  the  women  are  working  daily 
through  the  various  organizations  adding  their 
bit,  while  the  young  men  are  saying  farewell  to 
home  and  family  and  loved  ones,  and  are  crossing 
the  Atlantic  to  face  a  formidable  enemy  in  war, 
and  if  necessary  to  make  the  supreme  sacrifice  in 
defense  of  their  country  and  our  country,  that 
justice  and  right  may  prevail  and  Democracy 
may  be  made  safe  throughout  the  world  and  for 
all  time.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  young  men 
who  have  joined  the  colors  from  Concord  town- 
ship: 

Ora  Wagner,  Corp.  Ght. 
Addison  Brown,  U.  S.  Navy. 


110  A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF 

Fern  Scharlach,  Recruiting  Officer,  Detroit. 

Ed  Welch,  Sergt.  Co.  D,  64th  Infantry. 

Bennett  Karr,  Headquarters  Co.  28th. 

H.  H.  Strickler,  Co.  H,  122d  Infantry. 

Roy  Extine,  Sergt.  312th  Ammunition  Train. 

Gail  Lambert,  Co.  G,  4th  Infantry. 

Ruel  Dayton,  263d  Aero  Aviation  Squadron. 

Frank  Welch,  270th  Aero  Squadron. 

E.  E.  Shult,  Co.  A,  326  Bin.  Light  Tank. 

Herchel  Darling,  Battery  C,  68th  Regt.  L.  I.  S.    . 

Jesse  Stam,  68th  Artillery  C.  A.  C. 

Harold  Cross,  7th  Co.,  68th  Regt. 

Gail  Clark,  7th  Co.,  68th  Regt. 

Joseph  Leeds,  7th  Co.,  68tl/Regt. 

John  Stam,  Battery  C.,  68th  Regt. 

Robert    Holloway,    Casual    Co.,    Replacement    Battalion, 
Am.  Ex. 

Russel  Brown,  Co.  D,  of  339th  M.  G.  Bn. 

Ambrose  Haag,  Co.  H,  62nd  Infantry. 

Ray  Webster,  Co.  346  Machine  Gun  Inf. 

Roy  LePage,  Co.  C,  3rd  Inf. 

Jennings  Stroup,  Co.  27th,  Group  145. 

Mark  Tebo,  Co.  127,  Group  141. 

Marshall  Roy,  Co.  H,  62nd  Inf. 

Milo  Brown,  I.  S.  of  A.  Dept. 

Jesse  Torbet,  Wagon  Train  No.  S.  C.,  Columbia. 

Abe  Hoagland,  Casual  Co.,  Replacement  Battalon,  Am. 
Ex. 

Alonzo  Easter,  honorably  discharged. 
Austin  Smith,  honorably  discharged. 
Tracy  Freel,  Battery  B,  317th  Field  Artillery. 
Basile  Freel,  Co.  15,  Jefferson  Barracks. 


THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY 


Shannon  Underwood,  Co.  71st  Inf. 

Robin  Wright,  156th  Depot  Brigade,  Co.  B,  3rd  Pro.  Regt. 

Wilber  Leak,  Co.  H,  62nd  Inf. 

William  Torbet.  Benj  amin  Albright. 

Carl  Smith.  Eber  King. 

Noble  Wagner.  Patrick  Courtney. 

John  Garrett.  Charles  Haag. 

Bert  Clark.  Eddie  Gladd. 

Bert  Judy.  Warden  Lambert. 

Harry  Lambert.  Amil  Albright. 

Henry  Miller.  Fred  Albright. 

This  year  (1918)  marks  the  darkest  period  in 
our  national  life.  We  are  engaged  in  the  most 
gigantic  struggle  that  the  world  has  ever  wit- 
nessed —  a  World  War.  Millions  of  men  and 
billions  of  treasure  are  lined  up  in  the  grapple  of 
death.  Thousands  upon  thousands  of  human 
lives  have  been  swallowed  up  in  the  struggle. 
Men's  hearts  are  heavy  with  burden  and  anxiety. 
A  great  principle  is  at  stake-  -human  rights  and 
justice  and  freedom  as  against  the  forces  of  mili- 
tary autocracy.  Christianity  and  the  long  cher- 
ished institutions  of  free  government  are  threat- 
ened and  tested  as  never  before. 

But  we  should  not,  nor  will  not  despair,  nor 
lose  courage,  nor  give  up  hope.  God  still  reigns 
over  the  destiny  of  nations  and  justice  and  right 
and  democracy  will  triumph  in  the  end.  Out  of 


142  THE   IROQUOIS  COUNTRY 

the  struggle  will  come  the  freedom  of  every  na- 
tion, large  and  small,  to  determine  its  own  high- 
est destiny.  The  clouds  that  now  darken  the  earth 
will  disappear  and  the  star  of  hope  will  blaze  out 
from  the  east  chasing  the  shadows  away.  The 
millions  of  brave  boys  now  in  the  trenches  and  on 
the  fields  of  battle  will  come  sailing  home  to  glad- 
den the  hearts  of  loved  ones  who  now  mourn. 
The  people  of  the  earth  will  be  lifted  up  to  a 
higher  and  better  civilization.  The  dove  of  peace 
will  spread  its  wings  over  all  nations,  and  the 
Spirit  of  Him  who  said,  'Peace  on  earth  and 
good  will  unto  all  men,"  will  take  a  new  hold  on 
the  hearts  of  the  people  and  they  will  know  war 
no  more. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  II  L  NO  S-URBANA 


I   977.364EL94C  C001 

A  CENTENNIAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  VILLAGES  OF 


30112025395069 


